All That Glitters is Gold
by Aly91
Summary: Two siblings, raised to be Hunters, follow a lead. Unknown forces lead them into the world of the Hobbit and they must find their way through the quest, bringing their own brand of kick-ass and know-how. What will happen to the tragic siblings and how will they change things? And how will the merry band change them?
1. Chapter 1

**I hope you enjoy this new story of mine. I own nothing from the Supernatural or Hobbit universe. I made my OCs to be a sort of real people inserted into the Hobbit universe (but not, because they're Hunters) it gives them a ****background in ****fighting without being too cliche.**

Lillian smirked as she swung her machete, it was not the most elegant weapon, but they always did the job when dealing with vamps. She watched as the head rolled from the vamp's shoulders.

"Wow, good job, sis," a gruff voice grumbled, and a large hand descended on the blonde-haired woman's long curly locks, ruffling them all out of place.

"Thanks, Jake," her voice was deep too, the smoldering kind of voice that could leave your knees weak, either with affection or fear.

The two hunters picked up their dropped weapons, a gun and a flask of holy water, and shoved them into a duffle bag.

"Next time, don't let one sneak up on you, what if I wasn't here to take him?" Jake meant well, he just always sounded condescending.

"Yeah, I know," Lillian rolled her honey colored eyes, tired of her brother's patronizing. They walked over the bodies strewn across the warehouse floor; there were five in total, not a bad day at all.

"I just don't want to burn another sibling is all," Jake, heaved the duffle so he could better hold it.

"I know," Lillian repeated, her voice softened, "I'll be more aware, we can't all be Winchesters though," the girl joked. It was a common hunter jest; those boys somehow came out of the worst situations practically unscathed. She'd use any joke to get away from the sore subject of her dead brother.

"Ha," Jake's laugh as a low rumble, "I don't think I'd ever want to be." And with that the two siblings quieted, in a comfortable silence, knowing the feelings that were left unsaid.

The two grew up in a family of Hunters; it was common knowledge that most hunters married others. Their parents were some of the best; cut of the same blood-stained cloth, the two raised their four kids to carry on the good fight. Jake was the first born, and easily the strongest, growing taller and more muscular than their father, and more dark featured than their mother. Then came Emily, she was a wicked girl, more clever than any monster she was up against, she also had the dark hair and eyes of their mother. Gregory, or affectionately known as Greg, was easily the kindest of the siblings, always fair and always fast, he was the first child to take after their father, being blonde and blue eyed. Lastly came little Lillian, she was fairly well rounded, stronger than Emily and faster than Jake, with wits to help. She was also a perfect blend of her parents, her father's blonde hair and her mother's honey eyes.

The family was well known for their closeness and their strengths. There was an almost military quality to their fighting style; everyone knew their jobs and how to help the others. However, as with all Hunting families, tragedy would strike. First with their parents and Emily, they were in an elevator when a ghost decided to snap the strong wires holding it up. The three siblings left were closer than ever, protecting each other twice as hard since half of their family was gone and could not be there for them. That was what made Greg's death all the worse. Lillian and he were always close, he wasn't as protective as Jake, being closer to the same age, they grew up with an understanding. The two would often pull pranks on the older Emily and Jake. He was shred to pieces by a Were, right in front of his two living siblings. The werewolf that did the act was killed brutally.

Now we are to the present, the two hopping into a little Mustang, inconspicuous in case the law started sniffing around. Jake, the driver, cranked up the music, the sound of the classic rock they grew up on filling the air, and Lillian was lulled to sleep by Sweet Child of Mine.

"Hey, wake up, we're stopping for gas," the voice of Jake woke her and she squinted against the lights from the BP.

"Kay, I'll be back," Lillian stretched as she walked to the bathroom, she knew from all the driving she did in her life, that you always take a bathroom break at every stop. Approaching the cashier, she put her loot on the counter, beef jerky, various granola bars, cookies, and candies. She paid with one of her many credit cards, under the name Felicity Heart. Trekking back to the car, she opened the big bag of peppered beef jerky and offered some to her brother, as he took off down the road in search of another case. As if on cue, the phone meant for only other Hunters rang.

"Ello?" Lillian chirped, her usual greeting, "yes-of course- about a day away- it'll be no problem," she hung up and grinned at her brother, knowing he was always impatient.

"Well?" Jake grumbled as his dark amber eyes bore into her lighter honey ones.

"There seems to be a mystery spot that's acting up," Lillian grinned at her brother, "just get on the interstate towards 75E and keep going, we get off on exit 13."

"Okey dokey," Jake said, turning the music back on, "I'll wake you up for your shift." And it didn't take long for her to fall back to sleep, thinking on the details she was given. For every 13 years cars would go missing on the long stretch of road, the passengers never to be seen again, probably another ghost or maybe a witch, it didn't seem like a demon's doing. Her thoughts faded into a dream of her family, one of the few times they were actually normal was during birthdays. She'd need a drink from the trunk when they got to the spot. Lily started when her brother shook her. They were at another gas station, a Marathon this time, so she and Jake went in to freshen up and get more snack foods that would last them the next day and a half, before going to the dinner next door and eating their fill.

"Better get your rest, Jakey," Lillian smiled at her brother, "we'll get there just around 1." Jake rolled his eyes at his younger sister, before reclining his seat and falling asleep. It was only 6 in the morning, so she occupied her time by plugging up her ipod and listening to her favorite rock ballads and the pop she kept on there, humming gently along. Only stopping once more, the two finally arrived at their exit, Lilly deciding to let her brother sleep a bit more.

'Wonder where we'll see something?' Lilly thought, driving till the end of the road one way then turning to drive until she reached the end going the other way, the road soon turned to gravel, then it turned into a dirt road.

"Did you get us lost, again?" she heard Jake groan, waking up.

"No, I just wanted to follow the road both ways, I'll just turn around the next driveway," she grinned at her brother before watching the road. They came upon what looked like a junk yard, Lilly heard a loud warning ding before the car suddenly died.

"Motherfuck," Jake groaned as Lilly tried to start the car back up, but it wouldn't even turn over. Sighing she opened her door.

"Well come on, let's grab what we can carry and keep going, there's probably a junk man down further in," Lilly muttered, grabbing her gun and stuffing it in a holster that she kept under her black leather jacket, strapped a knife to each leg and pouring several other weapons into her backpack along with her snacks. Jake followed her lead, grabbing the rest of the weapons and alcohol. He knew she was probably right; it would be quicker to get to the house than trek back down the road. Admiring the cars, it did not take long to realize that the further down they walked, the older the cars got, until they were walking past rows of carriages.

"Lil, where are we?" Jake looked confused, they had reached the end of the clearing of vehicles, ahead only hills upon hills with mountains in the distance.

"I-I guess we're where all those people went missing, but I'm not sure where that is, the road isn't there anymore," Lilly frowned, pulling out her gun while her brother had his large iron axe.

"So if we can't go back, then there's only going forward. Should we search the cars?" Jake asked; turning back the way they came to see everything had disappeared, even their own little Mustang.

"Damn it," Lilly grumbled, she only had another pair of clothes with her, and very little food, "now what?"

"We just have to stick together and keep moving forward," Jake frowned. This wasn't a situation he wanted to get into. Ever since Greg's death, he was sure to only take cases the two could handle. This was well out of his comfort zone. But he was a Hunter, and so was Lillian, and if anyone could figure this out, it was them. So the two ventured on, ready for anything, or so they thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okey Dokey, I'm not sure if there's going to be a pairing or not... If you want a certain pairing at all review or PM me, I'm at the point where you can influence me! Enjoy! Also, thinking about bringing some creatures from Supernatural in soon, so be prepared...**

The two finally came to a bridge, it was the first sign of civilization, and Lillian could have kissed it. That is if she didn't hear loud noises coming their way. Boisterous cheering, laughing and singing was heard down past the bridge. Jake turned to Lillian, pointing a finger to the one tree on one side of the bride. With a quick nod, the girl scampered up to the highest branch she could reach before she fell silent, waiting. She saw her brother from across the way; he gave her a quick wink.

It wasn't for another couple minutes the men reached them. From above it looked like normal people; minus what they wore and the tall man near the rear. He could possibly even dwarf Jake; though she knew her brother was stronger. Glancing to her brother, their eyes met before they both leapt down from their trees, landing in the middle of the group and standing back to back.

Chaos erupted, and the men drew their weapons, which looked far more impressive than Lilly's gun and Jake's axe.

"Who are you, to attack us?" the one with long black hair, peppered at the scalp with gray bellowed, as the men around grumbled in agreement, they seemed to be relaxing their stance at seeing the two. One was very tall, with dark eyes and bushy hair to about his ears. The second, and more shocking, was a woman. She had long flowing blonde hair and her body was small, but athletic. What was odd was the small metal object she was pointing at those on her side.

"We're the ones you brought here, not use to the poor souls fighting back? You bastards," Lillian growled at who she assumed was the leader, aiming the gun at his face.

"Whoa, little lady, watch your language," a man with a ridiculous long white beard that split in two, each side flipping out.

"Don't tell her what to do," Jake's voice seemed to shock them more than her words, she was oddly proud of her brother, "so what have you done to the others? You killed them no doubt. Well unfortunately, for you, we are on the case. And no monster can hide from the Mason siblings." The look that spread across the pair's face was blood thirsty and angry, it was as if the poor group of dwarves (plus Hobbit and wizard) had personally wronged them. The girl's trigger finger had a spasm, ready to shoot at whichever being made a move.

"Calm, my son," Gandalf knew these two were danger, the look in their eyes was that of a hardened killer, not even Thorin's own brooding eyes didn't hold the same amount of pain, "I believe this is all just a misunderstanding, we have killed no one." The two glanced at each other, and he could tell they disagreed on what to do.

"But, you are the only ones we have seen sense we've been here, someone had to have pulled us here," the girl then lowered the object, placing it in what looked to be a sheath beneath her jacket. She was a little disappointed it wasn't one of the men in front of her, hoping it would have been easy to finish the case. This was going to be troublesome.

"If you didn't, then who did?" the brother's eyes were dark, deep, and merciless. He still wielded his small metal axe, not ready to trust them as easily as the girl did. He knew Lilly was usually good at judging people, but these men seemed seedy.

"How would we know?" a handsome blond man asked, he looked quite jolly now that the chaos had subsided, "we don't even know who you are."

"My name is Lillian Mason," the girl's voice was deep, yet feminine, "but you can call me Lilly."

"And you?" the dark featured man beside the blond asked, his voice equally mischievous.

"Jake," her brother was never really a people person, yes he saved them daily, but god forbid he make a friend, other than his family he was always a bit of a loner.

"Well, it is wonderful to meet you, lady Lilly and Master Jake," a man with what looked like a hunter's cap greeted merrily, "I am Bofur, at your service." And he made an exaggerated bow. Jake sighed, dropping his axe arm to his side. With that, the rest began to introduce themselves, all claiming to be 'at their service' they seemed too polite to be trusted.

"So if you didn't pull us here, what are you doing? You look like a suspicious group to me, and my hunches are never wrong," the girl smirked up at the three handsome ones who seemed to be more of the talkers, the leader had already rubbed her the wrong way. Of course it was probably due to his similarities to her deceased father, full of brooding, self-righteousness.

"Why on an adventure, dear child," the man named Gandalf said with a wide grin, "and what are two humans dressed so odd and bearing such strange weapons doing in the forest? Ambushing unsuspecting people?"

The girl had sense enough to look abashed, while the boy smirked, "doing our job, hunting monsters and saving people, all in a day's work." The men looked intrigued at that.

"You both fight monsters?" one asked, he had almost auburn hair cut similar to the monks on those old Robin Hood movies their father liked so much.

"Fight?" Jake smirked wickedly, "we've been raised to kill them. We were born Hunters, with all the natural skills and training."

"Stop show boating," Lillian rolled her eyes good-humouredly, "we were on a case in Michigan, and now we're here, wherever that may be. This could all be an illusion created by a trickster."

"Maybe it's a ghost? This looks like an old illusion," Jake poked at Bilbo's pipe that he had taken out.

"Hey, leave it be," Bilbo grumbled, causing a throaty laugh from the older sibling.

"Maybe… but it seems a bit off, everything is too real for a ghost," Lilly and Jake seemed to be in their own little world, "trickster's more likely, or maybe we're in hell, and we were finally killed."

"What's hell?" Gandalf asked the whole exchange very intriguing to him.

"Oh, it's where people like us go sometimes," Lillian waved her hand, "but I feel some of those demons we sent back would have a worse punishment than these pretty green hills."

"I heard a bit about what that Dean went through," Jake's face went eerie, all the dwarves subconsciously leaned in, "he was put up on a rack, he was skinned over and over again. It was years before he gave in and began torturing the other poor souls down there." Jakes face darkened.

"So it's settled," Lillian's voice chirped, causing Ori and Bilbo to start, "we aren't in hell, I see no fire or brimstone or demon torturer. And it's lacking screams of the damned."

"I think it's 'bout time we head off," Jake frowned thoughtfully at the group of men, "good luck adventuring." And the men thanked him, confused by the two's appearance.

"Ja~ake," Lillian's voice was singsong, "why don't we help them? I'm sure they'll need us, they seem inexperienced with all the things that go bump in the night."

"For all we know, there're none here," Jake groaned, his sister was always trying to be helpful, "besides we have to get back, the people need us."

"Jake, open your eyes, they are people," she looked into his amber eyes, her own honey colored shining. Jake seemed to be having a war wage in his head; help these short, hairy men or try and get back home.

"Fine! It's not like we're in any trouble," he grumbled, but Lilly ignored his sarcasm, "we'll help you."

"We are fine without your help," Thorin growled, "we have a burglar, wizard, and plenty of good dwarves to fight anything in our way." The speech earned cheers from many of the men, minus the smallest and tallest and one that had something embedded in his skull, he seemed rather stoic and angry looking.

"So?" Lilly asked, "we know all about killing things, we could be some help."

"We've been learning how to fight since we could walk," Jake drew himself to his full height, "we have been saving people for our whole lives."

"You, girl? You probably couldn't even kill a goblin, let alone face a dragon," Thorin approached the girl, who smirked.

"Then I'd die," her voice was soft, "as long as I fight with my all and protect those around me, it would be worth it. I must follow my family's example," Her words shocked everyone, this small girl, still a child, had such a grave soul. Jake frowned at her jab at the job and their family; she meant her words though.

"What happened to you," Gandalf muttered as he regarded the two humans. He saw suffering and strength in their eyes.

"We are from a long line of Hunters," Lillian's voice was soft, she heard him, "we saw our parents and siblings die. It's the curse of a Hunter, to be alone until we die a young death."

Gandalf stared at the girl hard, "you are willing to help us? You don't even know what we are up against and our reason for fighting."

"That doesn't change anything," her voice became loud, "it actually helps things. Usually we have to find out all of that on our own. It'll be a nice change to just follow for once instead of stumbling around for answers."

Gandalf smiled at the girl, she seemed strong, "if our esteemed leader is fine with you coming along, I am alright with it." He was further shocked when the girl giggled happily, her eyes bright.

"I am on a quest to restore my kingdom," Thorin said tiredly, he had heard the exchange as well, and if the girl was willing to fight, then so be it, "the evil dragon Smaug took it from me."

"A dragon? So you weren't kidding," Jake mused, "sounds exciting, let's see the Winchesters fight that." With that the group was off, Lillian sharing a pony with Bilbo and Jake walking beside the ponies.

"We will find you both rides when we get to the small village on down," Gandalf called back, "it is but a day away." It would be in their best interest to stop along the way anyway, he felt it would help ease Bilbo into the struggles soon to come. So the group rode off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for the review, follows, and favorites! Here is the next installment, I know it's small, but I will post another chapter sooner. I'm considering pairing Lilly with Bofur, so thoughts?**

"Tell me a tale of your past, sweet human," Bofur was riding beside Bilbo and Lillian.

"All I know are horror stories," her voice was soft, but held a slyness to it, "once, when I was only ten years old, a man came into the room I was staying in. Back then there were six in our family, so we had to split apart, in my room, Jake and my sister, Emily, were both asleep. He walked over to my sleeping sister and rested his hand on her forehead. I have never seen a hand like it, his fingers were long and bony and the color of blood. He was stealing her soul, I would find out later. I was so frightened though, I could barely move.

But something inside me clicked in place, and I knew what to do. So I crawled to the bag my parents left us, and pulled out a gun," and at that moment, Lillian had reached under her jacket and pulled out her weapon, "and I shot it in the head." The girl pointed it ahead of her and mimed shooting it.

"That is a frightening story," Bilbo looked into down at what she called a gun, "what happened next."

"Jake and Emily woke up," she grinned at her brother who was walking ahead of them, "the monster fled out the window, still alive. To this day I still have nightmares about those hands." The girl frowned looking at her own.

"Thank you for the story," Bofur smiled softly.

"That wasn't that great a story," Jake grinned at his sister, knowing that she just told the story that scared her most that didn't involve her families deaths, now it was his turn to impress.

"Then tell us one of your own," Killi laughed at the friendly sibling rivalry, not too different from his own.

"Yes, Lilly's tale is scary," Jake smirked, "but mine is horrendous. Once, when I was only ten, a few years before Lilly was even born, my family rode into a town on a supposed Ghost case. Upon searching the haunted house, which happened to be in a graveyard, we heard a horrible scratching sound coming from the cemetery. Outside our window, the dead were rising from the graves. You see, it was a special week, the planets and moon were just right to give a witch perfect opportunity to wake those lying below us. Armed with only with a flamethrower my father incinerated every last corpse." At the word 'incinerate,' Bilbo shuttered.

"Are you alright?" Lillian smiled at Bilbo softly, "don't worry, Jake and I won't let any creepy crawly get you."

"I-Incineration, that's one of the things on the contract I signed, the dragon can breathe fire," Bilbo muttered to the girl behind him. He didn't know some of the others were listening as well, he just felt at ease around the girl, it was probably her soft features and the feeling of security that surrounded her.

"I doubt you have to worry about that," Lillian was used to being the comfort to those who she and her family helped, "and of all deaths, that isn't one to be afraid of. Mister Bilbo, if I tell you a story, do you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"I would keep your secret for as long as I lived," Bilbo said sincerely, then blanched at his poor choice of words.

"I had another brother," she started, her voice gentle, "he was only two years older than me, and he was probably my closest friend. I loved all my family, but he was the only one who stayed by my side and didn't complain that I was too young like my sister or the fact I was a girl like Jake. My parents and sister died in an accident a few years before; but we got back in the swing of things, because we had to get back to Hunting and we had to save people. Well we had a case in a little town in the woods, people were dying, and the citizens had blamed bears or wolves, as they usually do in those situations. Of course, we knew better. We armed ourselves and waited for the moon to appear, and when it did, we were ambushed.

There were more werewolves than we thought, and they were stronger too. We were horribly outnumbered, but it was too late, so we fought. It was going so well too, we had killed at least four, and there were only two left when the screaming started. He was being ripped to shreds by another that had attacked from the trees." Lilly had to stop for a moment to take a shaky breath, "there is nothing worse in the world than seeing the person you love most being ripped apart and eaten alive by monsters and not being able to stop it."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Bilbo asked, his voice quiet.

"No, it just was leading up to this," Lilly smiled at Bilbo, who had turned himself to face her, "since that day I swore to never let anyone close to me die, and you remind me of Greg, my brother. He was a worrywart too, but also very brave." She gave his hair a little ruffle, and giggled at his sound of indignation. It wasn't long before they made their way into a little town, the group rented out several rooms, leaving the two siblings to their own devices.

The two tried to buy a pint of beer, but their money wasn't good there, so they got money the way they knew best, by being Sharks. Lilly started to flirt with several men, earning her two pints and some kind of cake that was decent. All the while Jake racked in money from the drunkards, until they felt they earned enough and went back to the dwarfs. With a sigh, Jake plopped down his coins on a side table.

"How'd you get all that?" Ori asked, amazed, the siblings were only gone for about an hour.

"The usual way, playing cards," Jake shrugged, "the fact Lilly doesn't look like me, she can slip up and distract them, all the while telling me the other players hands," Jake ruffled her hair as she giggled.

"So how does she distract them?" Bilbo asked.

Jake laughed at the short gentleman, "well she looks at them from under her eye lids, bites her lip, and smiles at the floor whenever she catches them looking." Jake laughed when she slide up to Bilbo, who started to look uncomfortable, "and she sits in their laps," and Lilly twirled around and plopped in Kili's lap, who looked shocked at the sudden disturbance, "and she giggles at jokes, and whispers into their ear."

"And you let her do that?" Fili asked, as he watched Lilly stand again, by her brother. These two confused him greatly.

"Of course," Jake laughed, "we may save people, but we have to eat too. And a little trickery can go a long way. She keeps the men happy and drinking and unsuspicious of me." The family has been doing this for a long time, it was one of the things all Hunters became skilled at. Killing, lying, and cheating were all in a day's work, and they would not have it any other way.

"I don't mind," Lilly smiled softly, "some Hunters actually stoop lower for money, we just cheat people out of a little here and there."

"I knew you were a little vixen," Kili smirked at the blonde-haired woman; she was pretty and smart enough to get away with just about anything.

"Oh, Mister Kili," she put on a wounded voice as she swung her hips, "that's not a nice thing to say." And she pouted her cupids bow lips, and looked at him beneath her lids. They held each other's gaze until she broke down laughing, her face merry and warm. The look on Kili's face left all the other dwarves to laughing as well. In the end, the siblings went out and bought themselves horses, Lilly's a little paint gelding and Jakes a tall thoroughbred. Then they went and bought some essentials, such as small bed rolls, dried fruits and meats, a map, and compass. Lillian also bought a dress like the ones she had seen the women around the town wear, to blend in if she had to. They went back to the Inn and bunked with the –ur cousins, as the siblings decided to call them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, again! Thank's for reading on! R&R if you have something to say. The inner fan of tragic pieces has a lot of ideas about this story (this is a Supernatural AND Tolkien fic, so a little tragedy is necessary...**

"Got all ya needed?" Bofur asked with a bright grin. He rather liked the new additions; they were dangerous but kind. Of course that wasn't saying much, Bofur usually liked everyone he came across. For men though, those two were rather good. He was glad they joined the band, strength in numbers, and all that.

"I hope so," Lily grinned setting up her new bedroll, between him and Jake, "I don't think I could ever be completely prepared."

"No truer words were spoken, eh, Bifur?" he smiled as his cousin nodded.

"So, what is your story exactly, I know you said you and your brother hunt monsters, but why?" Bombur asked, and Lilly smiled softly at the chubby dwarf.

"I really can only tell you my experience, my parents and siblings had different things happen to them," Lilly thought she might as well tell them since hopefully she'd get back to her own world, and these dwarves seemed nice enough, "I am only 22 years old, and the youngest of four. My parents told me they met hunting a demon, and logic and love told them they would be best together. They were the perfect team, and my dad joked that they just couldn't have enough children.

"It wasn't long before I finally came along, I was the child of the group, Jake was already 12 when I was born, my sister was 7 and Greg was only 2 years old. I was taught, like the others, to read various ancient languages, to fight, and how to live on the road. We had a tough childhood, but we were a family and we were each other's greatest strength and weakness," Lilly shrugged. "What about you?"

"Bombur's and my father was an illustrious toymaker," Bofur's voice was gentle as he reminisced, "I learnt some under him. He is a master, of course, so my skill will be unlikely to reach his level. I am not the strongest warrior here, with my background, but I feel I must join the quest, to watch over my brother and cousin. Not much happened in my life, other than my home being taken by Smaug at a young age." Lilly smiled at him, and he was shocked at the gentleness of it.

"Never strive to be like anyone, I'm sure your toys are beautiful, and I'd rather stand by you in battle than any other warrior of this crazy world," they were the only ones awake in the room, she noticed, "your best is more than enough, I learnt that the hard way. As long as you put your heart into everything you do, and it is more than worth the largest amount of gold."

"How did you learn such a lesson?" Bofur asked gently, he was touched by the girl's words. She smiled brightly then.

"I had three older siblings, all of them great at something," she looked up at the ceiling and ticked the names off her fingers, "Emily was the smartest of us, she memorized the chant to expel a demon at the age of 11. Jake was strong since I could remember, he treated his body like a temple, and he could go hand to hand against the best. Then there was sweet George," the girl's voice broke, but she continued on, "he was so fast and lean. I was the last-born; I was always in their shadow as a kid. Everything I did, they already perfected." Lilly laughed, "the one thing I had that they didn't was my way with words, I could comfort the most torn and mangled victim and children felt comfortable running to me."

"Then you did something better," Bofur smiled at the girl, "it's easy to learn things and to strengthen the body, but it is harder by far to be good and to have a person's trust."

Lilly's smile faded as she stared at the man, he was so very good, she swore to herself to protect him as well, Bofur and Bilbo had won a place in her heart. "Thank you," her voice was barely audible, "I-I don't- thank you." Bofur thought he saw a tear streak down her check, but she turned towards her brother. "Sleep well, Bofur." He heard after a slight pause.

"You too, Strong Hearted Lilly," he muttered, and he didn't have to see her to know she was smiling, before silence took over and the two fell asleep.

Bofur was surprised when he saw the siblings were the first ones up, they had already silently rolled up their beds, and he grinned when he saw Lilly chewing on a piece of some kind of dried meat, humming as she went through her pack, taking stock of things. The two had laid out various weapons, from almost three packs worth. He didn't recognize the tune, but it was somehow soothing and sweet.

"What are those?" Bofur asked, and he saw Bifur approach the pile of weapons.

"Rock salt and shotgun for ghosts," Jake explained as he hefted two long stick shaped objects made of wood and metal.

"Machetes for vampires and really anything that isn't already dead," Lily picked up what looked like a short, thin sword.

"Guns and knives," Jake pointed at his gun and knives he laid out, Lilly's still strapped to her, "also pretty versatile, we use silver bullets since they're really good with things like werewolves."

Lilly grinned at the two's interest, "Holy water for demons," the girl shook one metal flask with a cross engraved in its side, and took a plain flask in her other, "and liquor for me." She grinned at the guffaws of the dwarves, Bombur having joined his brother and cousin.

"Salt, it wards away evil," Jake picked up the large shaker. Each thing was put back in their rightful spot, the siblings seeming to have been done with their inventory of weapons.

"I've never heard of some of the creatures you spoke of," Bombur looked thoughtful, "does salt really keep evil away?"

"One of the strongest weapons we own," Lilly smiled gently, "and then we have our tattoos that protect against possession." Lilly smiled at the interested faces of the dwarves.

"You have a tattoo? Where?" Kili had joined the room along with his brother and Bilbo.

"I have more than _a_ tattoo," Lilly smirked, she pulled up the leg of her pants, and all the dwarves in the room leaned in. There was a pentagram in what looked almost like a sun on her ankle.

"Pretty," Bombur mumbled as he stared at the strange design. Lilly let her pants drop back down.

"Jake has his on his ass," Lilly grinned at Jake's shocked face.

"It is not," he grumbled, "it's on my shoulder." But it was too late, the dwarves were laughed merrily at the young girl's words. It didn't take long for the gang to gather themselves up and head out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here is the next chapter. Feedback is welcome. Also, I am not Tolkien, therefore I do not own Hobbit or the Supernatural creatures and characters mentioned.**

The group was overall, quite a happy bunch. Gandalf couldn't have asked for better warriors. At the moment, he was riding ahead with Jake, talking to the older sibling.

"How was your sleep?" and Gandalf couldn't help but grin at Jake's gruffness, despite the fact he was being polite.

"Oh, it was satisfactory," Gandalf smiled, "and your own?" Gandalf watched as the dark man patted the horse's head when it nickered.

"Good enough. It may have been the best sleep I've had for weeks," Jake grinned then, his face handsome and roguish, "this strange new land has this air of peacefulness, at least compared to ours."

"Do you mind telling me more of your land?" Gandalf looked into his dark amber eyes, trying to see the look he saw earlier. When the young man came at them, he had a look of ruthless abandon. Now, though, Jake was a good-looking young man, he had a cleft chin, light scruff, and his dark hair was tousled on top of his head. For both the siblings to be men, they were both quite handsome. They looked normal and happy in that instant, not the hardened warriors they seemed to be when they first appeared.

"There are two worlds within our one," Jake smiled, breaking the wizards train of thought, "those who are unaware of the monsters lurking in the shadows and those who fight to protect them. Our Hunter lineage goes back at least a century. Before that, our ancestors were soldiers. My mother always said we have a blood that runs through our veins that begs to be spilt for others. Our entire family is dead, except for a few distant relatives and an insane uncle. It's the curse of a Hunter, no matter how hard we try to be normal, this is the life we live."

"It sounds like you were raised in a tough household," Gandalf gave the boy a gentle smile, almost grandfatherly.

"We never had a home," Jake frowned thoughtfully, "we were always running from the law or towards a new case. That is one thing I wish was different, my siblings never really had a good home. We were raised to be killers, swindlers, and liars, and I regret that Greg and Lilly were dragged into the family business. I am the perfect Hunter, as was my other sister, Emily. Greg and Lilly were different though, they were good kids." Jake's eyes then were so lost; Gandalf wondered what kind of people would steal a child's innocence.

"She seems to have become a fine young lady," Gandalf looked back and saw Lilly joking with Ori and Nori, her eyes bright and full of life. The two watched her for a moment, she was bright then, the sun making her hair look like gold, her honey colored eyes flashing in joy.

"I never understood her," Jake frowned, "Greg and her were close. I was always too busy for them. It felt like I wasn't really a part of their life. As the oldest, I was always off on hunts with my parents, only rarely did I watch Lilly and Greg. When I did, she was always so sweet and soft. I remember thinking that she wasn't built for killing. Of course, look at where we are now; she is stronger than most Hunters I've met and she only seems to be getting tougher."

Gandalf grinned at that, there was more to the girl than meets the eyes, it seemed. At that moment, the girl was laughing happily, chatting with Bofur, the young brothers, and a wary looking Bilbo.

"Then my sister grabbed me by the hair and gave me a stern talking to," Lilly frowned sternly and put on a mocking voice, "next time you want to pull a childish prank, don't bring me into it." The dwarves that were listening to her tale all laughed, Bilbo even managing a small smile, despite his uncertainately of this adventure.

"What she doesn't tell you is not two days later, Emily got back at her," Jake knew this story, hell he was a major part in the power struggle between the two sisters, "poor little Lilly woke up with all her hair shaved off, to this day Lilly is very protective of those golden locks." Jake smirked; he got back at her for her lies about his tattoo. The three dwarves all chuckled, trying to imagine the pretty, little human with short blonde hair.

"I knew you had a funny story in there," Bofur grinned, he had elicited the tale. She had claimed that she only really knew sad or adventurous stories; Bofur was happy to see she was wrong.

"Don't let her fool you," Jake smirked, "she and Greg loved to pick on poor Emily and I. She may seem serious and tough, but she is a little imp."

"Only because you two were mean and wouldn't let us practice shooting with you. They always said we were too little or that I should be doing my schooling." His sister pouted. It was a look she adopted to get her siblings in trouble with their parents all those years ago.

"What a horrible brother," Kili picked up on whose side to be on, knowing full well that though the brother looked more intimidating, the girl had a wily look in her eyes that spoke of a more subtle warfare.

"Yes," Fili agreed, "to ignore your sister and not allow her to practice and be with you."

"Whoa, she makes it sound worse than it was," Jake rose a hand in defense, "what she isn't telling you is that most of those times she was trying to join us she was too young, our parents wanted her to have normal schooling for her first years. It wasn't always my fault, I just followed our parent's orders."

"It was the only thing in my life that was relatively normal," Lilly chuckled, "I hated it at the time, but now I'm thankful for that little taste of stability, even if we never stayed in a place for more than a year."

"Traveling," Thorin decided to join the chat, "we have that much in common with you. Since our homes were taken, we dwarves have been moving around more than we'd like."

"But that was the only good thing about being a Hunter, other than saving people," Lilly's smile faded as she cocked her head at the dark king, "I got to see so much of the world, we even went across seas to help people a few times. Traveling the world isn't all bad."

"But you led a nomadic life from birth," Thorin stared hard at the girl, "I was born to be king, and to rule my land. That was taken away."

"So you think your life is sad?" Lilly had a challenging little grin on her face, and Jake knew what was coming, knew she hated people moaning about their lives.

"It is more tragic than you think, I'm sure."

"I don't doubt that you had a hard life, hell most my friends had hard lives," Lilly grinned and her face looked almost wolfish, "we can't bitch and moan 'bout it now. Besides, there are always people out there who've had it worse."

"Is that what gives you comfort?" Thorin had taken her words wrong, "you look at others and are glad you are not them?"

"In my line of work, you take all the comforts you can get," Lilly didn't want to fan this man's fire, "my aunt drunk herself to death and my uncle went insane with grief. My whole family went to hell in a hand basket, so I refuse to let myself sink so low. I refuse to be so weak that I lose myself, and that is why I believe no one should complain, because if you have the ability to blow hot air, you are a whole lot better off than half the people I know."

"That is only living half a life," Thorin didn't like the pity he felt bubbling up, it was weakness and he knew Lilly would not like him feeling sorry for her, "I guess we all experienced some sort of loss. I apologize for believing your views were cruel."

"It's fine," Lilly shrugged, "we don't know much about each other, so I guess we can't assume anything about each other's lives."

Thorin couldn't help but roll his eyes at the girl's kindness, she was almost infuriatingly willing to help and believe in him, "that is true, I suppose."

Gandalf chuckled softly, gaining Jake's attention.

"What're you laughing at, old man?" Jake had an amused expression on his face.

"Thorin, he's a stubborn, old fool," Gandalf glanced to Lilly who was explaining a few stories to the royals, the brothers stared at her in mild shock and interest while Thorin seemed stoic, "I hope between you, your sister, and Bilbo we can take away his hate."

Jake made a noncommittal noise, "we've saved so many people, it could happen. Through I'm not sure what you think we can do."

"You may not be able to tell, but I am a wizard," Gandalf sat straighter on his horse, "and I can tell you two are going to bring about good luck."

"Oh? And how do you know this?" Jake smirked, "in case you couldn't tell, we aren't the luckiest people, hell we may be in the running for unluckiest family award."

"That's all in the past, and in another world," Gandalf chuckled merrily, "when we constructed this group, it was only going to be the fourteen you see before you, but I was wrong. I saw great peril and change for these men, but perhaps with you two added to our group you can change things." This man's eyes twinkled, and Jake had never been more disturbed before.

"Or," Jake sighed as he looked to the sky, "we could make things worse, we have a way of attracting trouble." He knew his sister would do anything for these men, she already seemed to be friends with half the men, and he knew he would as well. As much as Jake didn't want to admit it the dwarves and company had grown on him, and he would do the usual self sacrificing hunter thing for them.

**Okay, I know this is a strange place to stop, but you'll see with the next chapter that it makes some sense. Yay for Thorin time though, I like the idea of having almost a fatherly relationship with Lilly, where she gets to take out her rage she never got to on her own father. Much love, will post quicker, I swear!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here we go, hope you enjoy! Also, don't own Hobbits or Supernatural, just my OCs, and some of the weird little plot twists.**

"O-ho," the voice of an elderly woman distracted the group, "what a nice group of strong men, would some of you mind helping me?"

Everyone watched as Fili and Kili approached the woman, stopping their horses before her, Lilly following closely behind.

"Killi, at your service," and the young dwarf bowed his head, his brother copying his introduction.

"Why, thank you," the woman's smile widened as she regarded the three that approached her, "I only require moving my dead cow from the pasture."

Lilly dismounted her horse, liking to speak to people at eye level, "oh? And how far is your house?"

"Just a ways," and then Lilly noticed the woman's eyes, they were yellow and catlike. With a start, she called out to Jake, "Kitsune." With that one fateful word, all hell broke loose. The little old woman flung Lilly back. Lilly hit a tree and slide down it. The woman leapt after with surprising speed and grace, her fingernails now long talons. Jake threw a knife at the woman, who had raised her claws to strike the now aware girl. Unfortunately he missed, the blade sinking into her shoulder.

"What is this being?!" Thorin was confused by all the commotion, one second a kindly old woman approached, the next she was poised to kill Lilly, a knife jutting from her back.

"Hunters do not belong in this world," the woman frowned, "this is a place where we can wander and hunt freely."

"Too bad, bitch," Lilly smirked as she slide a knife from her thigh sheath, sinking it into the woman's heart; she slumped then, her horrible, long talons slicing Lilly's chest as her hand fell.

"Would someone please explain what that beast was?" Bofur was staring at the bloody and beaten Lilly, who had pushed the body off her, standing with a groan. She popped her neck as she quickly wiped off her hunting knife, and finding it to be clean enough for the moment, put it back away.

"That, my friends, is one of the things we had to deal with back in our world," Jake went to check on his sister, she seemed to be guarding her cuts, "will you need stitches?"

"I'll be fine for now," Lilly smiled brightly, "my head hurts more than these little scratches, I'll never get use to being thrown like a rag doll."

"Who would?" Bilbo sounded slightly hysterical, "I mean, that little old lady threw you like- like you were nothing. I- How did you know what she was?"

"Everything's fine now," Lilly smiled gently at the hobbit's reaction, "that was a Kitsune, nasty beasties, but easy enough to kill. Come here." And all the dwarves and company scooted in closer, "notice her eyes, when they are feeding or attacking their eyes become fox like and they grow talons. To kill one, all you have to do is stab them in the heart, the only other way known to kill a kitsune is to starve them."

"And this is a monster you hunt?" Bofur was impressed, though the little old lady didn't look like much, he saw how dangerous she seemed, and how the two siblings immediately knew what to do.

"Yes," Lilly smiled up at him, "they are pretty evil little things, and they have superhuman speed and strength. Kitsune's feed on brains." Bilbo blanched, what would have happened if the siblings hadn't been here to figure it all out and kill the monster?

"She was going to eat us?" Fili asked his big eyes widened even more; well that was a close one.

"I suppose she was," Jake frowned, "she was smart, separating the group so we would be easier kills. Something a lot of monsters like to do."

A collective cold chill went through some of the others, this normal looking woman was a horrible creature in disguise, how long has she been leading people to their deaths? How many other creatures have the dwarves and friends passed without their knowing?

"Well, may as well go on," Lilly smiled excitedly, her forehead had a gash but she didn't seem to notice, her adrenaline was too high and she was already use to pain.

"Lassy," Bofur forced her to sit on a fallen tree, they were about eye level, and Lilly's light amber eyes gazed into his own brown orbs, laugh lines creasing the sides, "we need to fix you up. You'd be no help to anyone dead."

Lilly frowned, wincing as the man dabbed at her head with an alcohol soaked rag, "is it bad?"

"I think you'll live," Bofur laughed at the girl's voice, he was reminded she was still practically a child; she had only lived a portion of his life. It was surprising someone so young was so world-weary. She didn't really look her age either, yes her face was young and soft, yet her eyes were so tired and the way she carried herself was confident and reckless, of someone who had been through so much that they feel that they can throw caution away. He decided then and there to help those eyes brighten and to watch out for her, knowing she would not watch out for herself when she had all the others to protect.

"I am glad I am in such good hands," Lilly smiled softly, teasing the man who was cleaning her wound.

"As am I," Bofur smiled at the girl, laughing when he saw her blush lightly, a little pout on her face, "we'll have to get your hair pulled up, don't want it getting in your wound after I worked so hard to get it fixed up." And with that Bofur expertly braided her hair, making her blend in more with all the dwarves.

Lilly ran her hands down the braid, feeling the pattern, "thank you. I- I sometimes forget about taking care of myself."

The whole situation made Jake smile, he was glad it was Bofur who approached her. Lilly would have shrugged everyone else off, with maybe the exception of Bilbo and Gandalf, she never let weakness show unless she saw a trustworthiness in a person. Bofur was now on his list to trust Lilly with; it was obvious he wanted to help her.

Jake waited until Lilly went to ride along Bilbo and the wicked dwarf brothers, she seemed to like those too as well, to approach the kindest looking dwarf.

"Sooo," Jake smirked at the shorter man, "you care for Lilly?" Bofur sputtered, having been unfortunate by taking a drink as they rode on.

"Why, of course," Bofur recovered from the awkwardness of the moment with ease, "she is a kind young lady, and I think she needs people to watch out for her while she protects everyone else."

Jake laughed at the response, it wasn't quite the answer he expected, hell he didn't know what to expect with the man, he was peculiar. The hat on his head resembled the hunters caps from their world, and his hair looked like Pippy Longstocking's. There was also no doubt he was older than himself, but by how much he was unsure, but there he was, practically pledging to protect his sister.

"I see," Jake grinned at the older man, "so that is why I decided to have a chat. I know this will sound morbid, but I may die soon. I'm 34 years old, and for a Hunter, that's actually a long life. I only know a hand full that've lived past 40 and had their sanity intact."

Bofur frowned at Jake's little speech, not knowing where the conversation was going, "aye, that isn't a long life at all, rather sad life spans you humans have."

"Yes, and Lilly has so much to look forward to," Jake watched her laugh at something the brothers were saying to Bilbo, "that's why I want you to do me one favor. All I am asking of you is to make sure Lilly lives her life how she wanted to as a child, doing what she wants and not what is expected. She threw away so much to stay on the path our parents built for her that it's tearing her apart. She wants to have a family, and to settle down as much as a Hunter can."

"What do you want me to do then?" Bofur felt slight panic, surely he wasn't trying to get him to marry his sister off, Bofur was no matchmaker.

"I want you to talk some sense into that thick skull of hers," Jake smirked at the relief that clouded the dwarf's eyes, "I want you to be there for her, she needs a constant in her life. I can tell already you two are friends, so just bear with me and be there for her."

Bofur chuckled, "I'll treat her like one of my own. That sweet little lass deserves all the kindness in the world."

Jake was happy to find a protector in Bofur, Lilly needed people like him to open her up and get her to stop hiding from decisions. She was always the one to throw herself head first into a fight, always ready to defend, but now that she's growing up and their parents are gone, maybe now she could have her dream. She and Greg had always talked about silly things like that, about growing up and finding love. He wanted that for her, she deserved it.

"I am glad you say that, now let's go see what got her in a tissy," Jake laughed at Bofur's expression, they watched Lilly looking peved and confused at the brothers and Bilbo, "what did they say?"

Lilly pouted, "they were asking about Hunting, and one of the questions made me a bit… upset?"

"What's the question?" Bofur asked.

"Well, we wondered, are you two really the good guys?" Kili smirked at the girl's grimace.

"That's a stupid question," Jake laughed, "of course we are."

"Then why do you kill things? Everything you do seems like you are some kind of protectors of mankind, but that old woman in the forest, she didn't seem evil at all." Fili explained the conundrum.

"I got it," Lily clapped excitedly, "think of it like this. Yes we kill monsters, but they are just wanting to kill others-"

"But that's how things go sometimes," Jake could tell Kili was trying to piss her off, and he laughed at Lilly's impatient expression.

"Yes, you can't villianize a spider for catching flies," Fili was joining in, poor girl was outnumbered, but of course that wasn't anything she wasn't use to.

"You can't," Lilly agreed and that wolfish smile was back, "but think of it like this. Kitsune, for example, eat at least a person a month, more if they can. Now Kitsune usually have children, and those children have children, and they all hunt people who have done no harm. That particular Kitsune was luring good people to help her, only to kill them. Now if we kill that Kitsune, the whole chain is broken and now great people have a chance to exist. That monster could have eaten a man destined to help others. The only thing a Kitsune is good for is at best a weapon, which could only hurt people further."

Kili grinned almost obnoxiously, "you saved us, and you said that she attacks good people, does that mean I'm good?"

Lilly smiled gently, "sure you are, even if you're annoying as hell." She laughed at Kili's indignant shouts, sticking her tongue out playfully, before galloping on.

Bofur, Fili, and Jake laugh, as they watch her ride forward, they all had to admit, she could be a fiery little thing, and they all wouldn't have it any other way.

**And Done, hope you liked it :) Review if you want :) any ideas, criticisms, and comments are welcome! Much love.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything... but the siblings XD**

Lilly was curious as to where they were heading, so she decided to see what was happening by keeping astride Thorin. He was quite handsome, in a broody, Jesus-look-a-like way.

"How far is it until we stop for the night?" Lilly asked, smiling at the tallest dwarf. She still could not get over the fact they were in a world of dwarves and elves, the monsters did not impress her so much, since she faced her own worlds for as long as she could remember.

"Gandalf says there is a little cliff head we can camp against, it'll offer us protection," Thorin glanced sideways at the girl, "thank you for killing the Kitsune."

"Oh," Lilly blushed as she waved his words away, "it was nothing. I'm actually glad you got to see what we do, and now we know not to trust little old ladies." Lilly giggled happily.

"It was not 'nothing,'" the king was adamant about not trusting the siblings so quickly, but they seemed to be proving him wrong, "you saved my nephews' lives, and quite possibly all of ours. I apologize for doubting you."

Lilly laughed, this man was too much, "you doubted us? Well, I'm glad we could put it to rest. We would've helped, regardless if you liked it or not. I like your little gang, and I want to help you all be happy. Plus it'd be cool as hell to kill a dragon." Her eyes softened as she regarded the dwarf king's solemn expression.

"What do you hope to gain from this trip?" he asked the girl, he knew none of the other dwarfs would tell the two that they were going not only for their home, but for their gold as well. He was a bit wary, them not having signed a contract like the rest.

Lily rolled her eyes, "what do you think Hunters get for helping? Absolutely nothing," Lilly smiled at his thoughtful expression, "I mean, I wouldn't mind earning some friends from this little adventure. And maybe a point in the direction of our world would be nice."

"You want nothing at all?" Thorin looked at her skeptically, "you do realize I am a king, and could supply you with enough gold to last you your short lifespan and more."

Lilly blinked, "If you could give me anything at all, I would like a home. A place to call my own, that is really the only thing you can give me that I don't already have or can't get on my own."

"Why can you not get a home on your own?" Thorin hated to admit it, but he was confused by this girl's answers.

Lilly laughed bitterly, "I will never settle down unless I have a life to settle down for. We Hunters fight until death, which usually doesn't take very long. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to live a more normal life. A life where hunting isn't the only thing I do. If you gave me a home, then you would give me everything I ever wanted. Gold, power, or whatever a king could offer, I do not want."

By then the two had reached the cliff face, it truly was the perfect place to camp for the night. She saw that nothing could attack from behind them; the mountains were too steep. The group all dismounted, Thorin turned to Lilly, the warrior maiden who saved them all.

"Then I promise," Thorin held his hand over his chest, "Lillian, to give you a home of your own after you help us regain ours."

Lilly smiled broadly, and with two strides, came face to face with Thorin, "thank you," her voice was sincere and Thorin was surprised when she embraced him. She was just about as tall as him, her cheek was pressed to his neck. His nephews and Gandalf seemed to all find it amusing, as they chuckled at his shocked expression.

"It is nothing," Thorin gained composure, as he lightly returned her hug, not knowing exactly what to do with the tiny girl.

"No," Lilly pulled back, a brilliant smile on her face, "it is more than you realize. I never thought I'd have a home, let alone in such a strange… land."

"Does that mean you want to stay here?" Bofur asked as he approached the blonde, the girl looked thoughtful.

"I may," she smiled happily, "it seems safer than our own world, and already I have more reason to stay than go back. Our world is turning to shit." Bofur chuckled at her expletive, already he could tell this woman was like none in Middle Earth, she was almost like a man, in her manners and dress. She fought like one, that's for sure, on that thought, it was probably a good time to check her wounds, and it seemed he wasn't the only one to think that.

"Shirt off," Jake grumbled, he had a little red bag and an alcohol bottle.

"Oh, I'm probably fine by now," Lilly waved off all concern.

"Then let me see it," Jake sat beside her on a large rock, opening the bag to reveal all sorts of bandages and bottles. Lilly grumbled and shed her top. Bofur and all the others surrounding them, looked wide eyed at the girl, as she sat there, with very little covering her modesty.

"Young lady," Dawlin grumbled, "I don't know what kind of world you were raised in, but it is not okay to reveal yourself in such a manner." Jake laughed at the varied expressions of shock, indignity, and a few of the younger even oogled her a bit before turning away.

"I'm wearing a tank top," Lilly frowned confused, "girls work out in these all the time, hell some go out dancing in things like this." She gestured to the garment. It did cover those things woman are supposed to hide, it went to almost to her belly button, before stopping. He also noticed she had another tattoo on her hip, a dandelion that's seeds were blown off and changing into flying doves.

"I like your tattoo," Ori seemed to have noticed it too, causing Lilly to laugh, and the poor boy to look down in embarrassment.

"Thanks, my sister had it in black," Lilly smiled softly, remembering getting the tattoo with Emily, they weren't the closest, but they cared about each other dearly. Ori's embarrassment seemed to lessen.

Bofur's eyes were drawn to her cut, which extended down part of her neck to her collar bone, ending around where her top started. It didn't look deep, but it was long and there were three side by side.

Jake sighed, "this is why I always tell you to watch yourself," he began to clean the wound, pouring alcohol over a clean bandage, he wiped off the blood, causing Lilly to hiss in pain. Bofur petted the long blonde hair reassuringly, smiling when she relaxed into his touch.

"Tough little lass," he murmured. Lilly smiled, finding the dwarf's voice soothing her frayed nerves.

"I'm not really," she smiled as she tilted her head all the way back, resting her crown on his stomach, "never will get used to being flung around. It's one of the worst parts of the job, only second to motel beds." Bofur chuckled; this girl was a whip.

"All done," Jake had only cleaned the scratches; it seemed her clothes took the brunt of the hit, being a bit scratched and bloody.

"Tha~anks," Lilly said in a sing song voice, getting up to pull on her shirt again, ignoring the blood and rips, happy to be fixed up.

"Yeah, yeah," Jake's lips quirked into a smile, "don't make me have to do it again." He sat beside the two, bottle of alcohol in hand, pouring some in his mouth.

Lilly stared at him for a moment, before sticking out her tongue. She pulled out the knife she used to kill the kitsune, cleaning off the now dried blood. It was a long, nasty blade; one end had jagged edges, the other side a normal blade. It was about the length of her forearm, and was a bright silver color, Bofur knew there had to be some silver actually in the knife. If he remembered right, silver was for killing werewolves, he wandered how horrible they were. Having heard that werewolves killed her brother, he hoped he never would run into them.

"Do all the monsters look harmless?" Bilbo had that on his mind, how a sweet looking old lady turned out to be so evil.

"For the most part," Lilly smiled gently at the man, "but there are some ways to tell who the monsters from everyday people. If silver or iron can burn them, then do not approach them."

"But how can I test that? I can't very well walk up and ask them to touch something they know will burn."

Lilly grinned, "That's when you get crafty. Here," she pulled out a few small bottles from her back, "silver shavings and iron shavings, you can throw it on them or put it in their drink."

"And that works?" Bilbo asked, taking the bottles from the girl and putting them into his pockets.

"Mhm, you'll definitely be able to tell after throwing this at them, it's really a violent reaction. Also, if you run into a vampire they are only really weak to dead man's blood. Or you have to hack off their head."

Bilbo cringed, "I'd rather not-" but he was interrupted by a loud howl, "what was that?"

Lilly laughed lightly, resting her hand on his shoulder, "don't worry, it's probably just a wolf, we are in woods." She frowned when she saw her words didn't alleviate his panic.

"It's the call of the Warg," Kili's face looked ominous by the light of the fire.

"Wargs?" Lilly fought back a smile, she never heard of anything like that before.

"Yes, the woods are probably teeming with them," Fili continued for his brother, his eyes bright but his face was grim.

"They always attack at night. It's easier you see, for them to sneak in to a camp and devour all who lay within it," Kili continued, delighted in Bilbo's horror, "they crave the taste of flesh you see. They lay in wait to pounce on tasty morsels like you."

Lilly decided poor Bilbo had had enough, "oh, how bad could something named Warg be? I'm sure they are easier to kill than half the things Jake and I've fought." She stuck out her tongue at the brothers. They opened their mouths to protest, when Thorin made an appearance.

"You think that's funny do you?" he growled at them menacingly, "You think it is funny, the notion of being butchered by wargs and orcs? You think it is funny to torment someone who has never experienced such devastation and bloodshed, when you have hardly stepped foot out of my halls yourself. You know nothing of the world."

Lilly gaped at the king's anger, but she was even more surprised at the tale Bilbo elicited from the eldest dwarf. His story of war and violence hit home, maybe they all weren't so different after all. With a small smile, she approached the mourning king, her flask of rum in her hand.

"Here, I think tonight, you may need this," she handed him the liquor, watching in amusement as he took the flask and downed a shot, looking at the flask in thought after.

"It's very smooth," the king commented, taking another hearty swig, before handing it back. He couldn't help the small grin as he watched Lilly take a gulp, before screwing the lid and putting it in her jacket pocket.

"It's the good stuff," Lilly grinned, "you could drink a bottle and hardly have a hangover the next day."

"Your world seems to be more… cultivated," the king hoped that was the right word, the metal flask was well crafted, as were her blades and the weapons she called 'guns.'

"I suppose it is, but not necessarily in a good way," Lilly frowned as she regarded the king, "everyone is becoming desensitized to things that don't involve them. But of course, we still have our zealots who care way too much."

"And earlier you said that this land is more peaceful," Thorin commented, sounding incredulous.

"Yeah, well you see, we have so much war, so much hate," Lilly frowned, "and that's only with fellow men. We have all manners of crazy going on. The world almost ended as we knew it several times. And you couldn't trust anyone."

"Why could you not trust others?" the king was intrigued by this strange world.

Lilly smiled sadly at the king, "you just saw a taste of my world. Some of the other monsters are worse; demons possessing whoever they wish, shape shifters stealing people's appearances, monsters disguised as people. Imagine, having your brother lead you to some abandoned warehouse and then start attacking you out of the nowhere. It also doesn't help when you have to kill the look alike." It did not happen to her, but similar things happened to friends and family.

Thorin frowned at the thought, "are there any of those beasts here?"

"Possibly, if Jake and I could get in, and a Kitsune on top of it all, so be careful," her voice faded, getting a thoughtful look in her eyes. The girl was intriguing to say the least, those large honey eyes seemed to gaze at something he couldn't see, and he was oddly glad for that.

**And shapow! Haha, hope you liked it! Any comments, ideas, critism is welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8

"I can't help but wonder what happened to the others. Are there people from our world trying to live here?" Lilly looked thoughtfully to the sky.

Jake had been wondering this too; surely, they hadn't been the only ones lucky enough to make some friendly acquaintances, and he hoped they could find the people to see if they could help in any way.

"How do ya like that?" Dwalin muttered, the siblings weren't the only ones to make it in, "this is a dangerous world, even more now that yours is seeping in. I doubt anyone from another world could make it long in our wilds alone." Bofur grunted in agreement, but he mentally cursed himself and the tattooed dwarf when he saw Lilly's hopeful expression fall.

"We came here to help them, to stop the disappearances, but now we're the victims," Jake hated feeling so powerless, they were truly lost in this world.

"We're useless now," Lilly mumbled, agreeing with her brother, she always felt better when she got to vent, Greg found that out.

"You aren't useless, Bilbo spoke up, his eyes fierce as he regarded the two humans, "you saved us all, and unfortunately I doubt it will be the last time you will."

Lilly nodded mutely as she stared out at the view of the valleys and cliffs, the short man was still shocking her with his polite scolding, she cracked a smile.

Their trains of thought were interrupted when Bofur started singing softly as he whittled away at a piece of wood. Lilly tore herself away from her brother, settling next to the merriest of the dwarves.

"What are you making?" she stared, entranced by the dwarf's skillful hands, as he molded the wood to his liking.

"A toy," he ceased his singing, glancing up as he watched the girl watch him.

"I figured that," her voice was cheery again, which warmed his heart; he didn't like her sounding so dismal.

Bofur chuckled as he flicked her with a wood shaving, "we'll have to wait and see what the wood wants to be."

Lilly stared into at him then, his expression was distant as his hands did as they pleased, "then I guess I can wait. Can you continue your song, it was very nice."

Bofur looked at her in thought, she sounded so small then, "Do you know Khuzdul? I thought only dwarves are to know it."

"Oh, I have no idea what you were saying," Lilly looked to the sky, she had never seen stars look so bright, "I just like the way it sounds. It's strangely comforting."

Bofur chuckled, the song was actually a love song about a soldier dying in battle, but he decided to appease the girl, and sang as he worked, the two happy with each other's company, despite the somber song that shattered the silence.

"I'm glad he could find someone to take comfort in," Bombur sat next to Jake, giving him a smile.

"Oh?" Jake asked, watching as Bofur whittled away and Lilly watched his every movement, they did seem close, "is he singing to her?"

"It seems so," Bombur chuckled, "he always had a nice voice. I hate to ask you, for fear of sounding untrusting, but Lilly is a good person, right?"

Jake blinked, as he stared incredulously at the dwarf, "Lilly, a good person? Well, Mister Bombur, I'll tell you a little story of dear Lilly, and from that you can tell for yourself."

Bombur smiled, glad Jake wasn't too upset about his asking, "I do enjoy stories, with Bofur as a brother, you have to."

"Well, my story starts with a young Lilly, only fourteen years old and hunting for about a year. She was going to go on a case with Greg and me. It was just a ghost case, nothing too difficult, but things went south fast. We were locked in a house with the ghost and a young family. The ghost was a woman who killed her children then herself, and was killing kids since. Well, I let the Lilly and Greg guard the family while I searched for a way to kill it. Before long, there was screaming from the room I left them in.

I came across little Lilly, shielding the couple's baby in her arms as she was being practically thrown around and ripped apart. The next day I asked her why she didn't save herself, she said that she couldn't let the ghost take the baby without a fight." Jake ended his story, hoping Bombur understood.

"She saved a child at the cost of her own life? I never doubted her bravery and self-sacrifice, after what she did for us earlier. I just don't want her to hurt my brother, he gets attached to people, you see, and I would hate to see him disappointed again."

Jake stared thoughtfully, as he regarded the two, Lilly was singing now. He could just make out the words 'there walks a lady we all know, who shines white light and wants to show, how everything still turns to gold.' He couldn't help but smile at her song choice, their mother would always sing Led Zepplin to them, when they were scared or hurt or sick. She inherited their mother's smoky voice.

"Lilly was born to save people, and to be there when they need them most, don't ever doubt her love, because nothing in this world is a more sure thing. If she cares, it's real and it will last, no matter what you do in return."

Bombur nodded, "good, and I apologize for bringing it up, I just worry about him sometimes. He is a good dwarf, sometimes too good."

Lilly smiled happily as she finished her song, it was one of her favorites from childhood.

"That was lovely," Bofur smiled distantly, the song taking him away from the present, "I never heard that song before. Your land must have had many sorrows to write such."

"Oh, yes, sometimes it was a bit sad, but we have so much hope," Lilly smiled, placing a hand gently on the dwarf's shoulder.

Her touch stirred him from his thoughts, as he looked into the girl's soft honey eyes, "thank you." Those words meant so much, far more than either realized.

"No problem, so has the wood decided what it wants to be yet?" Lilly asked, her grin a bit cheeky.

"I think so," Bofur was struck with inspiration, as he stared at her. Lillian, it was such a soft name for a strong girl.

"Aren't you going to tell me?" she pouted when he shook his head.

"Sorry, lass," he smiled widely, "it will be a surprise."

"I'm not a big fan of surprises," Lilly's pout quickly disappeared into her usual cheeky smirk, "but for you, I suppose I could wait."

"That's good," he grinned, "because you're going to have to."

Lilly chuckled, this man was infuriatingly blunt sometimes, "yeah, yeah, I think I'll sleep now, I do hope you can survive without me."

"I hope so too," Bofur laughed, getting back to his quick, practiced whittling. He was shocked when she spread out her bedding next to his rock.

Lilly smiled up at him dazzlingly, "goodnight, Bo, wake me if you need me." And with that, the girl fell asleep, rather quickly for sleeping on the uncomfortable ground. He found himself charmed by her soft, peaceful expression, a small smile on her face as she remembered better times or thought up wild fantasies.

Meanwhile, Jake and Bombur watched their siblings interact; Lilly had stooped to her sitting brother's cheek and kissed him good night, before pulling out her bedding, and bidding Bombur goodnight as well. She curled up at Bofur's feet.

"Is he humming to her?" Jake asked with eyes wide at all that had happened.

"I believe so," Bombur had his chubby face screwed up in confusion; he knew his brother cared for the little human, but he didn't know that it went to this extent. The interaction was innocent, but he saw what lay underneath.

"I don't know if I like what's happening here," Jake frowned as he watched the older man whittle. Bofur was stealing soft glances at Lilly as she slumbered; her golden hair had an orange hue from the fire light and his eyes sparkled as he worked on the piece of wood.

"I may have to agree, I'm not sure Lilly's a good match," Bombur loved his brother dearly, and he only wanted what was best.

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you have a problem with Lilly?" Jake jumped to his sister's defense, Bofur would be lucky to get someone like his sweet little sister.

"I could ask you the same thing," the chubby man somehow managed to puff out even more.

"Even though I asked first, I'll answer," Jake loomed over the man without having to stand, "Lilly is only barely an adult, she has her whole life ahead of her and I don't think your brother is good for her. She's strong, kind, intelligent, and though I don't doubt Bofur is a good man, she can do better."

Bombur was about ready to hurt the scrawny man, "Bofur is a great person, do ya think the prince would choose someone to go on this quest who's not? Your Lilly is just that, a soft little thing that you've gilded. Bofur doesn't need a cursed little human to break him when she dies."

"Lillian is a not- you better not say things like that," Jake's clouded eyes shocked Bombur, "Lilly won't die, I'll make deals with demons before I let that happen." The young man's face became feral as he glared over at his sleeping sister, as if commanding her not to die, with the strength of his gaze. Not her, Jake remembered almost breaking when Greg died, he couldn't imagine what he'd do if she left him too.

"Sorry," Bombur felt a bit guilty for bringing up such a horrid excuse, "us Dwarves can live centuries after humans, it's a sad truth. I don't want my brother to fall in love and see her die and have to live without her."

Jake calmed down, the dwarves lived that long? "There's someone from our world who said, 'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

"So, does that mean you want him to be with her?" Bombur asked; this man could not seem to make up his mind.

"Not necessarily, but if that's what she wants, then who am I to stand in the way of her happiness. Here I was hoping for her to settle with a nice, normal guy," he chuckled humorlessly.

"I guess you are right, I don't think I could destroy Bofur's chance at happiness," Bombur frowned as he stared hard at the girl. She was a pretty, little thing, for a human, and she was obviously brave and kind. He shook his head; he was getting ahead of himself, Bofur was kind to everyone, and Lilly was flirty with the young heirs too. Yes, he and Jake were overreacting; likely, they were mistaking Wargs for rabbits.

Bombur was, as usual it seemed, wrong again. What they thought they saw was only the beginning, as it goes with the type of people Bofur and Lillian were. At that moment Bofur felt the first twinge in Bofur's heart, as he watched the human sleep. He smiled as he heard her soft sights and groans, as she shifted herself so her back was touching Bofur's boot, seeking any touch she could reach.

"No," Lilly said that one word, soft and defeated and so very small, and Bofur found himself moving to sit on the ground, allowing her back to barely touch his hip.

'Poor thing, she just needs someone to be with her,' Bofur thought, as he heard her settle down. A soft, worn sigh escaped her, before she went completely quiet, curling into the fetal position. He continued whittling, as he watched most the dwarves settle down for the night. He was put on first watch with Fili, and it wasn't long before Kili took over and Bofur himself settled down, between Lilly and a snoring Bombur. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was Lilly turning to face him, her honey eyes meeting his own hazel, before her eyes slowly drooped. That was when his heart gave its second pang, it was almost a pain, but he disregarded it as he let his wary bones rest.

**Yay! Review if you like (I'd like it :))**


	9. Chapter 9

**And, here is the next chapter, sorry for the delay, hope you enjoy!**

The next morning, Bofur woke to a similar sight. Lilly was looking at him thoughtfully, smiling at him when he opened his eyes and noticed her stare.

"You took out your braids," it was a statement more than a question.

"Yes, they can be uncomfortable to sleep in, and I usually have to redo them in the morning regardless," he noticed her own rumpled braid with amusement, "speaking of redoing braids, would you like me to fix yours?"

Lilly frowned as she felt her hair, finding odd pieces sticking out, with a nod, she turned herself around to allow him access, "I haven't had my hair done for me since I was 10, I think. I was going to a dance class and was so scared of making a fool of myself. My sister sat me on the bed and told me a good appearance makes a confident girl."

"Aye, as vain as it is, being comfortable with oneself is important," Bofur smiled as he skillfully undid her braid.

"Yeah, but the bun didn't stop me from falling on my face," Lilly laughed at the memory, of course it wasn't funny then.

Bofur chuckled at the small girl, easily imagining a young Lilly dancing about "fell on yer face? Here I was under the impression you were more graceful."

Lilly playfully slapped his hand, "oi, hush, you. I had to grow into my body."

Bofur chuckled, tying off the braid, "and you did beautifully." He didn't have time to feel embarrassed as she chuckled.

"Thanks, Bo, wish young me could've known that," she giggled, shaking her head as she remembered, "the girls never really liked me, so I was always off with the boys."

Bofur chuckled, "that explains a lot," he laughed merrily as she swatted him, huffing annoyed.

"What about you?" Lilly looked up into his eyes expectedly.

"What about me?" he grinned cheekily down at her.

"What were you like as a kid?"

"I already told you, my childhood was pretty uneventful, at least compared to yours," he couldn't help but chuckle at her pout.

"I told you some of my embarrassing stories, you owe me one," she crossed her arms as she reprimanded.

Bofur smiled as he rested a hand on her head, breaking her cross look, "I had a small group of dwarves I called friends, and knew a handful of men. I never much hanged around any pretty dwarf girls, mostly because they are lacking in number."

"Lacking in numbers? Why is that?" she looked up at him curiously.

"Well, I suppose they were just uncommon births," Bofur shrugged nonchalantly.

"Are there many elves? I heard Bawlin mention them in his story," she looked, large eyed at him.

"I suppose, never really saw many of them myself," Bofur glanced at the surrounding dwarves, it didn't seem like they were paying any mind, for which he was glad.

"I would like to see one," she heaved herself up, beginning to pack away her things, "that was one thing from fairytales I never got to see, or have to kill."

Bofur looked at her thoughtfully, "your fairytales were things you had to kill? It sounds nightmarish."

Lilly smiled humorlessly, "it was a bit of a nightmare there," she shrugged as she turned from readying her horse, "I suppose you have some nightmarish things here too."

"Yes, we do. Wargs and trolls, orcs and necromancers," Bofur smiled as she crinkled her nose at the mention of trolls.

"They must be horrible," she shuddered; the two had finished helping the others pack. The group all mounted their rides and began their trek again.

It wasn't long before the downpour started, it was annoying, how drenched the group became. Lilly shuddered as she flung her pack open and retrieving the old Carhart jacket of Greg's, hoping it could keep out some of the rain and keep in her body heat, afraid of ruining her leather jacket. Jake was doing the same thing not too far ahead of her. Shrugging on his big army jacket, he knew he was better off than poor Bilbo. He handed the poor Hobbit a hoodie of Lilly's, it swallowed the small being more than it swallowed her.

Dori spoke up, " Here, Mr. Gandalf? Can't you do something about this deluge?"

Lilly looked to the gray man ahead, "you can control weather?!" She hoped he could wave that staff of his and make everything all better, but she figured if he could've it would be sunny by now.

"It is raining, master dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard," he responded, shooting the dwarf an exasperated glare.

Lilly zoned out then, thinking that if they had Harry Potter it would be better than this man. Now that she thought of it, she had not seen him do any magic yet.

"Did you make a deal with Demons to get your powers?" Jake asked, interrupting Bilbo and Gandalf's conversation.

"Demons? Dear lad, the demons in this land would rather kill me than give me powers," he chuckled at the insinuation.

"Where we come from," Lilly interjected, seeing Jake's miffed expression, "there are witches that use dark magic. They make deals with demons to get some heavy duty powers."

Jake didn't like that Gandalf thought his instincts were funny, he was still alive because he was always wary, "I just don't want any surprises," he glowered then, "we are on a lot of demon's hit lists."

"You fought demons? What are they like?" Bilbo's tone was a strange combination of curiosity and fear.

Lilly smiled to the smaller man, she knew he was older (by how much she didn't know),but she felt an odd protectiveness, like an older sister or mother. Between the two of them, it was obvious that she was more experienced than he was.

"They are pure evil," she said sadly, "they are the souls of people taken to hell and tortured to the point of losing all humanity. They're ghosts, but smarter and stronger and a lot harder to kill."

Jake nodded, "everyone who goes to hell becomes a demon, it may take longer for some, but it happens. It burns out all feelings, so they kill for the sake of killing. I hope we've done enough good to stay outta hell." He laughed humorlessly, as everyone else looked at the man as if seeing him for the first time. He had eyes that were dark, tired, and almost empty, as if he was accepting of any fate that could await him. Bofur quickly looked to Lilly, wondering if she had that same hopelessness in them.

"Bo, are you alright? You do know Jake just likes being a downer," Lilly noticed his frantic look towards her, as she eyed him suspiciously.

Bofur saw the same tiredness and darkness in her eyes, despite being several shades lighter than Jake's, but she looked more hopeful and alive. Would she turn into her brother, losing all hope of a better life?

"Nothing, dear lassie," he smiled gently.

She furrowed her brow before grinning back, and that smile helped ease his worry. Yes, she experienced a similar life to her brother, but she was strong and good.

"You're funny, Bo," she laughed lightly, shaking her head. She looked to the sky, the gray was rather depressing, "lovely weather we're having, eh?"

"Aye, for plants maybe," he chuckled at the state of her, she looked like a drowned rat, her blonde braid weighed down, the hairs that escaped now clinging to her face, heavy tan jacket soaked, but it was her smile and eyes that made her look surprisingly innocent, despite her rumpled appearance.

"You know, I never saw this coming," Lilly shook her head chuckling; "I know young people are suppose to feel invincible, but I think it's more than that. I have grown up around some of the craziest things out there. I know I can die, hell I've seen most of my family die, and I know I'm not so lucky that Fate will somehow spare me. But do you know the first thing I thought when we found out we left our world?"

Bofur stared hard at the girl, trying to read her, "No, what?"

"I thought, 'Lilly, you finally made it out,' and I was so happy. The only way out for a Hunter is to die or go crazy. I'm the lucky one, and that's never happened before. Out of all our family, I was always the one who my family protected, to never have a chance at anything."

"I imagine it can be hard being the youngest," Bofur stared at the young girl, thinking to his own family.

"It can be," Lilly nodded, "it was hard to prove myself when I was shoved to the back. I am stronger than I look, and even Jake doesn't accept it after all these years. You know, the day before I got here, we finished a hunt. He protected me again. I can never make mistakes and learn if I can't fight my own battles."

"Aye, well if there are any monsters from your world, I'll let you take charge," Bofur smiled as he watched her chuckle, "I'll run and hide behind you, and I'm sure Bilbo will join me."

"Thank you, Bo," she ignored Bilbo's indignant 'hey,' she was so happy that he was trying to make her feel better.

"Any time, Lilly," Bofur smiled, before the two lapsed into a comfortable silence, occasionally breaking it to tell little stories.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, review if you'd like :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy!**

It wasn't long before the group had reached their destination. It looked to be an abandoned house, and Lilly didn't like the feeling it gave off. She stood to the side as the dwarves set up camp.

"You feel it too?" Jake moved to stand next to his sister.

"Yeah, it feels wrong, I really don't like it," Lilly shivered as a cold chill swept over her.

"Keep your eyes peeled, we'll take turns for watch with the dwarves, I'll start," Jake went to sit next to the fire, accepting a bowl of soup that one of the dwarves gave him. Lilly smiled as Bombur handed her a bowl of the hearty stuff, she always did love stew, and the dwarf's was good, for working with what they had. Bilbo had left to take the prince's their meals, and Lilly noticed Gandalf's absence. That didn't make her feel any better, she knew there was strength in numbers, it also meant he was somewhere away from her watchful eyes.

"Are you alright, Lilly?" Bofur moved to sit by the wary girl.

"Something doesn't sit right with me," her voice was quiet as she glanced at the dwarf, "this place, why was it abandoned?"

Bofur shrugged, "they probably got ran off or went to find better land."

Lilly frowned at his dismissal, "I don't like that we're staying here. I hope I'm wrong, but I think that there is something evil here." Despite whispering her words, Thorin heard.

"First Gandalf, now you," Thorin almost bellowed, it must have been a king thing, "if you have a problem staying here, then go on ahead, let us see how far you make it on your own."

Lilly scowled, "I was just saying that something feels off, nothing against you, sir."

Jake recognized the look that crosses his sister's face; the same one she wore when she followed their father. She loved their father, Jake knew that, but she lost respect for him when she was old enough to know he took away his children's lives and any hope of happiness. He could see some similarities between the king and their dad.

"I know this land more than you do. I will not lead my kin wrong."

Just then, Fili and Kili rushed to the camp, breathless.

"Trolls, they stole the horses, Bilbo is going to try and get them back," Kili said.

1lilly wanted nothing more than to tell the king 'I told you so,' but hearing Bilbo was in danger made her spring into action. The siblings grabbed their machetes and Lilly tucked her handgun into the waist of her pants, while Jake grabbed a shotgun full of rock salt.

"Do you really think you should be heading off into this battle? You never fought trolls," Bofur wanted the girl to be safe.

"Never doubt me, Bofur," Lilly's voice was cold, "if Bilbo is facing off trolls, he needs our help."

Bofur felt like he was slapped, "I just worry for you, I apologize, dearie."

Lilly sent him a tired glance before Jake interrupted, "let's go Lils, we have trolls to kill."

The two followed a fidgety Kili, as the rest tried to get their own weapons together. Creeping up to the trolls camp, Lilly felt adrenalin pump through her, readying for a fight. She had never seen a being so hideous, the trolls were large and lumpy and obviously going to be stronger than the three of them. That did not stop Kili, who was emboldened by the presence of the siblings, and went charging in.

"Drop him!" Kili demanded, that spurred the two hiding out into action, Lilly leaping over a fallen tree as Jake led the way. She quickly went into formation, standing back to back to back with the other two.

"You what?" the troll holding Bilbo asked.

"I said, drop him," Kili all but growled. Lilly was shocked when the large monster threw the short man at them, knocking them over and disorienting them. The rest of the dwarves chose to attack then, yelling and fighting. The group put up a good fight, but it all went downhill when Bilbo was captured and was practically torn apart. Lilly did not hesitate in laying down her weapon, not wanting to see her new little friend be ripped apart so soon after meeting him. The trolls tied her over the fire, on a rotating spit. She saw Jake was down with the others, in a bag. She zoned out, ignoring the arguing of how to cook her group, instead attempting to get to the knife she wore on her thigh.

"Damn, this is hot," Lilly mumbled to herself, frowning as her fingers strained.

"Aye, unfortunately it is going to be a slow death though, not hot enough to kill us quickly," Lilly could hear the grim grin in Bofur's voice.

"For fuck's sake!" Lilly all but yelled, "if I'm gonna die, I don't want to hear your damned bickering."

The trolls stopped dead, and Lilly attempted to shrug, trying her best to give them a winning smile.

"She's right. Dawn ain't far away, let's get a move on! I don't fancy bein' turned to stone."

"Wait! You're making a terrible mistake!" Bilbo quickly interjected.

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits," Dori grumbled.

"What does that make us?" Bofur asked, morbid humor shining through.

"I meant with the...uh, with the...with the seasoning," Lilly grinned, Bofur was being erratic, but maybe he had a plan.

"What about the seasoning?" a troll asked.

Lilly watched as Bilbo spun a quick lie, saying they all had parasites, and had to swallow her laughter at the change of mood, the dwarves quickly playing along.

"The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf bellowed, as he popped out of nowhere, destroying half the cliff he stood on.

Lilly gaped in awe, watching the trolls turn to stone. Gandalf and Bilbo soon cut down the dwarves and Lilly, since they were in the immediate danger, before helping the others out of the bags. Almost as soon as Jake was righted, he gathered Lilly up in his arms, hugging her tightly.

"Looks like we fight another day," Lilly quipped. She grinned when she felt Jake's chest rumble from his laugh. Gandalf and Thorin were off to the side, talking.

"There must be a cave nearby," Thorin said, and from his voice Jake knew where they were going, it seemed they were making a little detour.

**Yay! Hope you liked it. Reviews are lovely :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry, been juggling this and a few other fics at once (Walking Dead and a one shot for my Avengers fic), plus I couldn't decide what the monster of the day would be… so enjoy!**

Lilly grimaced at the smell that wafted from the cave, well before they even saw it.

"What's that stench?" Bofur frowned when they finally got to the mouth of the cave.

Jake laughed, "you think this is bad? You should see an old fashioned rakshasa den, they sleep on a bed of bugs."

Gandalf regarded Jake's story before answering Bofur, "it's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch."

"Seems a shame just to leave it lying around. Anyone could take it," Bofur was looking at a pile of treasure. Lilly chuckled when a small group of the dwarves started burying a little stash off to the side of the cave.

"Come to me," Lilly froze, her eyes wide.

"Greg?" Lilly whispered to herself, she knew that voice, that soft, inviting voice.

"Come to me, sis," Greg's voice called out again. How was this possible? Hell, she didn't care, she knew her brother's voice and he needed her, she felt it. Slowly standing, the girl quickly exited the cave, her eyes searching the woods.

"Don't you love me, sis? Come join me," where was he? Greg was tormenting her, but she didn't care, he could fool her forever if she could just find him.

"How do I come to you when I can't see you, silly," she called out.

_"You know how, you can see me again. Me and mom and Emily, we're all waiting," he called out. What? How could Greg say that, he would never want her to die, right? But he missed her, he wanted to see her, she wanted to see him._

_"But- Greg, I can't," Lilly was crying then, "I have to keep living, helping."_

_"Lilly, come to me," she felt her heart shatter, he was dying all over again and she had to find him, he sounded so small, so sad._

_"Okay, Greg, I'll," Lilly stepped closer to the woods, he was somewhere in there, waiting. She couldn't keep out the shriek when she was grabbed from behind. Struggling franticly she screamed out for help, "Greg! Greg, I can't make it, someone's got me, help."_

_The arms around her tightened, dragging her away, away from where she wanted to go, away from where she belonged._

_"Nooooo!" she heard a scream from the forest, Greg._

_"Let me go! Let me be with them," she was sobbing now, not noticing the dwarves all around her, watching as her brother, her Jake restrain her._

_"Lilly stop," his voice was calming, "Lilly, don't you remember anything? Why would Greg be here, why would he want to die?"_

_"He wants to be with me," Lilly looked so broken, staring at the forest, one arm reached as if Greg could grab it and get her from Jake._

_"_Crocottas, Lilly," Jake said and that one word made her arm drop, limp beside her, "just a crocotta. Don't worry, we'll kill the bastard for that."

The dwarves never expected to see she strong war maiden crumble. Bofur flinched when Jake let her go, and she let herself fall, on hands and knees, sobbing hysterically.

"I-I want it dead," Lilly sniffed, "I want that bastard to wish it didn't know my name."

Jake smirked, "I'll bring you it's head." And without another warning, he left, taking his machete. He rested his hand on the top of Lilly's head, before completely disappearing.

Bofur slowly approached the girl, whose sobs faded to pained little gasps, "hush, pet. Don't cry, stay with me."

The way he said it clicked something in Lilly's head, stay, she had to fight no matter how lovely the idea of letting go was, so with this thought she grabbed Bofur resting her face to his chest, and he soothed the girl, rubbing her back gently as her breathing slowed. The rest of the group went away, not wanting to intrude and being more afraid of a crying woman than the trolls they faced earlier.

"Thanks, Bo," Lilly mumbled, her voice muffled by him. She felt a bit better now she was herself, the spell the voice put her in was strong, nothing was more powerful than secret desires and lost love.

Bofur let his arms slacken, so the girl could sit back on her heels. Their eyes met, and Lilly gave him a watery smile.

"It was no problem, lass," he petted her hair, running his hand over her sleek braid, "you don't need ta be strong all the time."

Lilly laughed, "don't let Jake hear you say that."

Bofur grinned, "where is he? Shouldn't take this long to kill a –eh- Crowcawta, should it?"

"Crocottas are tricky bastards, it'll take him some time to track it and then kill it, but it will happen, he'll kill it and make it back before nightfall."

Bofur nodded, he believed she had faith in him, he just hoped this monster, whatever it was, didn't kill her only family she had in this land. He promised himself and Jake he would watch over her, and he would, no matter what.

The group set up camp a ways away, Lilly marking their path in the trees with the knife strapped to her thigh. She promised Jake would be able to find them after his fight. They arrived at a cliff side and set their camp into it, as they didn't get rest the night before and Jake's absence was a good excuse to finally get rest. Lilly convinced them they didn't want to be traveling around with a Crocotta roaming around when night fell.

She promised herself she would not fall asleep until Jake got back, so she set up Jake and her's mats by Bofur and Bilbo, curling on herself as she listened to Bofur's humming as he continued to whittle his mystery object. She considered asking him about what he was making, she could see it was starting to take shape, but she couldn't interrupt him now.

She smiled as she let his wordless song carry her away, to a place she never knew, a peaceful warm place. She must have dozed off, because what felt like minutes later she was shaken awake. Jake was back, splattered in the dark blood, the sun completely gone. Everyone took in his appearance. The group, minus Lilly, had never seen a stranger yet more powerful sight before. The head of the monster was in his hand, the yellowed, sharp fangs were wicked looking. His machete was stained as well, though it looked like he tried to clean it, the blade was smeared.

With a cocky grin, he held up the head to Lilly, before throwing it into the woods, "the bastard put up a fight, but no one messes with my family."

Lilly smiled, stumbling to her feet, she quickly flung her arms around her brother, and the dwarves knew then that for all her talk and faith in the man, the girl knew that one day her brother wasn't going to come back. It was odd, to see the two humans, who were cursed to live such short lives, they had a mortality about them that made them seem so much more strong. They clung to each other for a moment, both reveling in the fact they were both still alive, and not joining their parents or siblings anytime soon.

"Good, then we can continue on our journey tomorrow without interruption," Thorin cut in.

The siblings, both laughed, Jake had told her how similar he thought the King was to their father.

The group had settled in for sleep, the siblings insisting on having the first watch to talk.

**Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews = love!**


	12. Chapter 12

Lilly grinned at the dwarves as they all pulled up camp, she noticed that Gandalf, Thorin, and Bilbo all had new swords. Well, Bilbo had more of a knife, but it was a weapon she had an inkling he didn't know how to use. And who better to teach him than her?

"Bilbo, I like your new sword," Lilly's voice was gentle, as she regarded the blade.

"Gandalf gave it to me, he found it in the cave," Bilbo pulled it from its sheath to show her.

"It will serve you well," she smiled at the smaller man, "look at how sharp it is."

"Too bad I'll never use it," Bilbo laughed nervously, "though it's –eh good to have the added protection."

Lilly nodded sagely, taking out her own knife she kept strapped to her thigh, and then looking to him with a wily glance, "would you like to learn how to look like you know what you're doing?"

"Only look?"

"Confidence will scare off many would be attackers, make them think twice."

Bilbo smiled tiredly then, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Good, now watch and mimic for now," Lilly moved her blade quickly, and with purpose. She did simple tricks with it, trilling it around. When it was Bilbo's turn he was more slow and hesitant, but he did them without dropping the sword or looking foolish.

"Good, see, not hard at all, and those moves are actually decent to fend off attacks as well." She then pulled out even smaller knives and gave him two, "now, I want to show you how to throw swords and knives, it's handy."

Bofur watched as Lilly taught Bilbo basic attacks with his new sword, even giving him a small knife to throw. The small thing wouldn't likely kill anything, but it could cripple it or at least distract it. She was patient with him, smiling when he did well and correcting when he did not.

"Something's coming," Thorin interrupted the company's preparing. Lilly grabbed a hold of Bilbo, gently guiding him away from the new noise.

"Lilly," Bilbo sounded so uncertain then, and she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Stay together, hurry now! Arm yourselves," Gandalf bellowed out. Lilly took out her gun, her knife still in her other hand, both trained towards the brush.

Whatever it was, Jake thought, there were a lot of them. As the rustling got louder, Jake prepared himself for another fight, needless to say he was shocked to see a man, who seemed quite crazy, all but fly into the middle of the group.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" the man screamed, several dwarves that surrounded him where about equally as shocked at the strange entrance.

"Mother fucker," Lilly squeaked as the man's sledge all but landed on her, the man looked like a hobo.

"Radagast, it's Radagast the Brown," Gandalf sheathed his weapon, approaching the wild man. The dwarves kept their weapons, though they visablely relaxed as Gandalf approached him, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong," the man looked a blend of confused and apprehensive.

"Yes?" Gandalf looked afraid to ask, as the strange man stared off into the distance.

"Just give me a minute. Um...Oh! I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was...it was right there, on the tip of my tongue! Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old," the man opened his mouth wide, and to Lilly's shock, a bug crawled out, "stick insect."

This man sure was something; she chuckled, but covered it with a cough when the dwarves next to her shot her a look. This was, evidently, a serious moment.

"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf, a darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows anymore, at least nothing good. The air is foul decay, but worse are the webs," the man looked serious all of a sudden. Lilly swore she felt a chill in the air as he spoke.

"Webs? What do you mean?" Gandalf looked serious too, and here Lilly thought this little quest was going to be easy.

"Spiders, Gandalf, giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant or I am not a wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur," Radagast was downright eerie now.

Jake chose that time to interrupt, "whoah, wait. What the hell, man. Giant spiders?" Jake's one weakness, besides Lilly. Since he was a kid he hated those creepy crawlies.

"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned," Gandalf ignored the man for now; he needed to hear everything Radagast was saying, before he forgot again.

Lilly and Jake shared a look as the man talked of a dark presence, a Necromancer. They heard stories of things like that, but neither thought such a thing was real. Already there are ways to control dead and bring them back to life, hell if they were so inclined the siblings probably could do it too.

Their similar musings were interrupted by a loud howl. Lilly frowned in the direction, it wasn't too far off it seemed.

"Was that a wolf? Are there...are there wolves out there?" Bilbo was frantic as he looked around the group for reassurance.

"Wolves? No that was not a wolf," Bofur spoke up, sending a ripple of activity through the group.

As if on cue, a large wolf like beast came out of nowhere, followed by another not long after. Thorin, Kili and Jake stepped up and took care of it.

"Maybe I should get out my machete too," Lilly mused, glancing down at her knife. Her heart was hammering, that thing had nearly snuck up on the small group.

"Warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind," Thorin called out.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo looked especially scared now, and Lilly gave him a gentle smile as she pulled out her machete from the pack on the ground.

Gandalf looked incensed as he approached Thorin, "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"

"No one."

"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf all but yelled.

"No one, I swear! What in Dorin's name is going on?" Thorin bellowed.

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin broke in.

Little Ori stepped up, "We can't! We have no ponies. They bolted."

Lilly was shocked when the man, Radagast offered to lure them away. She prayed those little bunnies could get that man out of harm's way, she rather liked the odd man.

**And I'll stop before it gets to the crazy part, plus I didn't want to put too many fights back to back to back. Reviews are appreciated… yes?**


	13. Chapter 13

**It's a long one! (At least the longest chapter I made of this story) but yeah, I finished it (though I may be tweaking it later), so updates will be regular.**

Jake was in awe as he watched the crazy, old man and his team of rabbits shoot off. He was sure brave, calling out for the orcs and the wargs to chase him. It seemed to work, and the chase began.

"Come on," Gandalf urged the group on. The barking grew louder soon, so they ran the opposite way. Jake knew that if any of that group chose to look just a fraction in their direction they would be screwed. They were out in the open. Jake glanced to a running Lilly; she was fast, that was for sure. What she lacked in physical strength she made up for in her speed and her smarts. They made it to some boulders for cover when Jake saw Radagast lead them again parallel to them.

"Ori, no come back," Thorin quickly reached out and pulled the dwarf who almost ran into their sight. Gandalf ushered the dwarfs quickly, Lilly falling in step. "Where are you leading us?"

Jake cringed, now was not the time. They managed to make it to more cover, when the huffing of a warg broke their silence. Lilly glanced up to see it looking for them. Silently, she readied her machete, like hell that beast was going to alert the others. It seemed the dwarves had thought the same. Thorin gave a silent nod to Kili, who notched his bow. He released one, striking the mount and quickly let another go when the orc retrieved his horn. The two fell down by Lilly's feet, writhing and making horrible shrieks of pain. Lilly quickly slit the warg's throat, making it quiet to a gurgle. The rest of the dwarves quickly dispatched the orc and one put the warg out of its misery with a hammer blow to the head. Braying quickly sounded as the warg's were tipped off to where their prey lay.

"Move, run!" Gandalf took off, leading the group away from the approaching danger. It wasn't long before they were headed off, an orc and his mount blocking their way, another warg quickly joining them.

"Kili, shoot them!" Thorin demanded, and with a determined look, Lilly took out her gun, not ready to go down without a fight. Kili shot an orc, which meant one less thing to worry about. Lilly, quickly pulled the trigger, the loud crack gaining everyone's attention as they watched the dead orc's ride slump immediately. Turning she quickly shot another, knowing full well the wargs were the most danger. That second crack seemed to allow everyone to regain their senses.

"Where's Gandalf?!" the call broke Lilly from her focus, she quickly went to the small group, joining their circle, ready to fight to the death.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin wielded his sword, ready as well, it seemed.

Gandalf then popped up from behind a boulder not too far away, "this way, you fools."

Lilly would have bristled at that, but there was no time, as she followed Gandalf and Thorin's commands of hurrying along. There was an underground tunnel beneath the rock, with a quick, deep breath followed after Bofur and Bilbo. She mentally counted with Gandalf as dwarf after dwarf slide down the rock.

"Killi, run," Thorin sounded desperate, and Lilly prayed her dear friend would make it. Fili was next and finally Kili and Thorin. Lilly rushed the youngest brother, enveloping him in a hug. She knew then that she loved this group, they brought her back to what it was like to have family. The young dwarf froze, unsure of what to do, finally embracing the small girl who smelt of citrus and sweat. The poor girl was shaking slightly, and he knew that she was more afraid for them than she was for herself.

"Heh, you doubted I'd come back? I'm hurt," Kili chuckled at her sharp intake of breath. He let her step back, smirking at the scowl on her face. She opened her mouth to respond but a loud hunting horn cut her off. The sound of many bows twanging punctuated their quiet, there was a battle going on up there and by the sound of the yells the orcs were losing. Lilly jumped when one rolled down the rock they had slid down earlier, dead as a doorknob.

"The hell," Jake poked the thing with his machete, never hurt to double check.

Thorin bent to retrieve the arrow lodged in the jugular of the monster, "elves," the man looked angry, disgusted even.

Dwalin's gruff voice interrupted the tense moment, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?"

Bofur, jumped in, "follow it of course," and the two led the way, Lilly behind them and Jake behind her. The dwarves and company quickly picked their way through the narrow path single file. Lilly saw the sky through a thin crack above them. Their way opened up, a thin waterfall behind them. The sight before them literally took Lilly's breath away. The village looked carved against the mountainside, waterfalls were everywhere, falling to a beautiful flowing river, and it was teeming with plant life.

"Valley of Imladris, in the common tongue it's known by another name," Gandalf's voice cut through her thought.

"Rivendell," Bilbo was the one to continue Gandalf's explanation, his expression matched Lilly's earlier.

"Here lies the last homely house, east of the sea."

Lilly heard Thorin confront Gandalf, but she was too entranced to pay any mind. They were soon lead into the city, and Lilly was reminded of the movie Sound of Music. They were lead one by one behind the rolling hills, along the path into the beautiful city. She knew that she was only amazed because of the foreign flavor the whole place had. She knew as well that if any of the elves or dwarves were to go to New York, Detroit, or Las Vegas they would be just as shocked. So, feeling justified, she allowed herself to gape at the sights. They stopped before some guards, the dwarves and Bilbo still staring around, but Lilly found something else to stare at. A tall, beautiful man- no elf she scolded herself, approached their group, talking to Gandalf . She slowly went to stand next to the wizard, still looking up at the man who had just taken notice of her. She glanced down at herself, knowing full well how messy she must look, she replaced her bloody and ripped shirt after the troll incident, wearing her tank top and a too large flannel shirt she had taken from her father's belongings. Her pants had grass stains on the knees and a little dirt further down the leg. But she knew what probably shocked him the most was the weapons sporadically attached to her, as well as the machete still in her hand, she had a distinct feeling woman here didn't fight or want to get down and dirty. She stood straight and tall, though next to the elf and Gandalf she was very short, she forgot how short she was, being around men who were the same size if not smaller.

The loud horn from earlier broke the staring match, and everyone turned to see the new arrivals. The dwarves quickly closed ranks, Jake standing awkwardly in the middle, towering over them all. He noticed all the men had long flowing hair, and he didn't know if he should scoff or be envious of their beauty. He grew up being chased after by many at bars, schools, and hunting trips, but he felt he was rougher looking than these fair folk.

They circled the dwarves a few times, and Lilly felt a bit angry for them, this was an odd greeting, getting surrounded and being cornered. Then the most beautiful, in Lilly's opinion, dismounted his horse and approached Gandalf, talking in that strange language.

When he noticed Lilly, he switched back, "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near."

Lilly grinned then, "sorry, that was probably our bad." He looked all the more interested as he regarded the girl, she had a strange accent, not one he had heard from any man before. And her coloring, he had never seen any mortal woman so golden; skin, eyes, hair all that bright shade. His musings were interrupted when he saw Thorin approach.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain," the man's voice was quite soothing, Lilly thought. He made Thorin look more homely in that instant, as the two squared off.

"I do not believe we have met."

"You have your Grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."

"Indeed? He made no mention of you," the two then seemed to have a short little stare off, before the elf, Lord Elrond if she remembered, said something in his language and the dwarves immediately took offense.

"No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food," Gandalf interrupted their anger. The dwarves all huddled then, whispering amongst themselves. When Lilly sent Jake a questioning look, he shrugged, rolling his eyes at their antics.

"Ah, Well. In that case, lead on," Gloin said, and the dwarves all seemed less tense.

Lilly laughed then, "I sp'ose that's true," she earned Gandalf and Elrond's attention, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." She glanced to the two beside her, "well, if it's alright with you, I'd rather feed my soul. I feel like this place needs a good exploring." Gandalf went to say something but the girl was already off, tying her boots together and flinging them over her shoulder. She giggled like a mad woman as she waded through the streams, not minding her pant legs getting soaked.

"Don't mind her," Jake stood by the two, "she gets like this when you take her to new places. First time in New York she had laid out in Central Park for hours, just laying there." The three looked back to the girl, who was now sitting on a boulder that jutted out by a waterfall, calmly looking around.

"Curious company you keep, Gandalf," Elrond led the wizard away, leaving Jake to follow after the dwarves.

The group finally got their promised meal, they seemed disappointed that they didn't get any meat, but Jake was happy to eat something lighter than the usual porridges and stews. They stopped gripping when they heard laughter of women coming their way.

Jake had to admit he was surprised when he saw his sister enter, clean and freshly dressed in flowing trousers and a top that went down to her knees. It was obvious she was wearing men's clothes by the fact the elfish women around her were wearing long dresses. She looked comfortable with her hair was done up in twin braids on either side of her face, keeping the rest of her curly locks at bay. She was barefoot, and for a moment he was reminded of all those pictures of goddesses that they had hunted back in ancient times, Artemis came to mind. Yes, that was his sister, goddess of the hunt with hair the color of the sun and eyes that matched, both wild.

"Why, Lassie," Bofur cut in, ignoring the elf maidens beside her, "we were wondering where you gone off to." Lilly grinned at him. Waving a farewell to the elves, she sat by the dwarf.

"I was exploring," her voice was breathless and refreshing, "Bofur, they are all so kind here, they've washed my clothes and drew me a bath and told me stories. And look, they gave me clothes." He couldn't help but smile when she stood and gave him a twirl, showing off what she got.

"It suits you well," Bofur nodded, as she sat down again, "would you like some roughage?"

Lilly laughed, taking a large leaf of lettuce, she chewed on it like a rabbit would, eyes darting around as it hung out of her mouth.

The men that were by her laughed at the sight, they never saw Lilly so relaxed. Usually she was pensive and alert, even when jesting with the group.

It wasn't long until Lilly was full of the fruits and veggies, noticing the dwarves barley touched theirs, "eat your veggies," she scolded Bofur, "they'll make you grow big and strong."

Bofur chuckled, the girl became a bit tipsy after several cups of wine and he swore he saw her take a few gulps of that flask of hers, "I think I ate enough, feel like I'd like some real food."

Lilly pouted, but it seemed she got an idea, "is this yer first time in Rivendell?"

"Aye, lass," Bofur looked at her a bit confused.

"Come with me," she pulled him to his feet, before padding outside, relishing in the cool afternoon air.

"Where are we going?" Bofur asked, and Lilly couldn't help grin at that adorable accent of his.

"Well," she carefully stepped to a ledge of a building, getting him to follow, she pushed herself against the stone walls, before reaching a larger ledge, "I found this while you went ahead for food, I just loved the view." Bofur finally made it next to her. Sitting by the girl and looking out, he had to agree.

"Aye, I suppose you're right," Bofur looked to the girl next to him, everything about her seemed to glow a strange silvery color from the moon. Through his whole life he had never rested his eyes on a more lovely creature. His heart felt another pang, as he watched her eyes shine.

"Bofur," her voice was small then, "I know I'll probably regret this in the morning, but can I tell you a secret?"

Bofur blinked, another secret? "Sure, little lass."

The girl made a little scoff in the back of her throat, "little lass? Is that how you see me? Is that how you all see me?

To say he was confused at the turn of conversation would be an understatement, and he felt he didn't see her as a little lass, but he couldn't do anything about how he was seeing her now. She was a mortal, he was a dwarf that could not work out, "I see you as a beautiful young lady, full of life and potential."

Lilly smiled at him, and he felt his throat close off, "come on," Lilly lead him onward, back to a thinner ledge, before it opened to a garden.

"Lilly- are you alright, my lass?" Bofur noticed her swaying, and wondered how much she had to drink that night.

"Bofur? My whole life I did as was expected," she turned to him and he was startled at her intense expression. He was frozen to the spot as she approached him, his brain telling him to move. But he didn't, couldn't, because she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he could feel his heartbeat pick up. His eyes widened when she gently pressed her lips to his, the act was soft, loving. When she pulled away he swore he could taste the honey and grapes from the wine and the liquor she had.

"Lilly-" he cursed himself when his voice cracked, as he stared into her half-lidded eyes. He was cut off when she rested a hand against his cheek, twirling his mustache once around her finger before letting it drop.

She gave a content sigh, as she leant against him, "Bo-" Aule help him, he felt a thrill go through him when she called him that with that breathless little voice of hers. He tried his hardest to collect his thoughts.

"I- we- it's not," but Bofur noticed then that her breathing was shallow and even. He chuckled a bit, she fell asleep on him, "lassie, you don't even know what you've done to me." With a sigh he picked her up, bringing her to the others. He passed her off to Jake, who had approached them and was eyeing Bofur suspiciously. When the girl was safely in her brothers hands, Bofur was able to get another good look at her. He felt a ridiculous grin pull at his lips, completely unwanted. He had never witnessed her look as peaceful as she did just then.

"I'll take her to bed, she needs a good night's sleep," Jake's voice broke his sentimental thoughts. He watched Jake take the girl away, holding her like a babe. Bofur was left alone, his company across the room while Jake took Lilly to the other end of the room, gently tucking her into her bed roll.

"She is a lovely thing," Bofur jumped at the voice, noticing the youngest heir standing near him.

"Aye," that was the only word he trusted himself with, for a storyteller he was surprisingly speechless.

"Earlier, when she hugged me," Kili began, looking back to the small mound where the girl slept peacefully and grinned widely, "I think she's in love with me."

Bofur was taken aback, he never thought he'd want Lilly's affection, but the fact that another was considering her made him more frightened than ever. If it was anyone else, he'd be able to fight for her. If she's what he wants he wasn't sure, but Kili? The lad earned his respect he saved them all with that bow and arrow of his, besides, he was an heir, he had no chance or choice.

"Oh?" Bofur managed, "and how do you feel about our little lass?" He hated that he called her that again, but he had to pretend nothing happened that night, for her. Besides, there was no doubt she would be forgetting everything that happened, and that was for the best.

"I'm not sure," Kili cocked his head, his usually easygoing attitude left him, "she's human, and I know deep down that it couldn't last, at least not as long as a relationship between two dwarves. Someday Lilly will die, and then I don't know what I'd do. Oiu, you're a story weaver, tell me, what happens when a dwarfish prince falls for a human?"

Bofur couldn't help but smile at the thought of such a tale, before remembering it was Lilly they were talking about, "well, Lilly is no normal human, is she? I'd say it'd be a happy story though, with a bittersweet ending." And he knew then that that night was a fluke, and that he wasn't talking about Kili and Lilly, but himself. Even if he'd have her, it would only be for a short time.

"Aye? Well as long as it's mostly happy," Kili laughed, his brown eyes bright, but he stretched and yawned, "best get some sleep, we're leaving early." Bofur watched as he set up his mat next to Lilly's, facing the slumbering woman. Yes, Bofur would forget about that night. But as he fell asleep, the ghost of Lilly's lips and fingers lingered as he fell asleep, dreaming of their one night and of what could have been.

**How was it? I wanted something to be put in their way, so I thought, ah a prince! So reviews, speak now or forever hold your peace, since as you can tell I'm on the homestretch. xoxoxox**


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning Bofur and the others woke to find Lilly gone. Thorin was not at all happy she could be preventing their getaway. The two heirs and Jake quickly volunteered to go find her. He would have too if it wasn't for the silent promise he made himself. So he was left to help pack with the others.

It wasn't long until Kili came upon the girl, as she sat, legs dangling into a stream. He didn't know if he was willing to risk pursuing her, but he did know that she was pretty. Trying not to startle her, he let his footfalls clank as he approached.

"Lilly, what are you doing out here?" he noticed that she changed out of her elfin clothes and into some type of armor. It was, again, a man's set, and he couldn't help but think she looked fearsome. He saw the rough leather leggings ended at the knee and the gold colored armor breastplate shone in the sun, blending with her hair that was now down. She looked different from the night before, more hardened and ready.

She smirked at the dwarf prince, "do you like my clothes? I finally look like I'm questing; I'm one of the men now."

Kili laughed at the girl's intensity, "Where did you get those?"

Lilly shrugged, "the women from before took a liking to me, and so they gave me the clothes from yesterday. When I went back this morning to say hello, they ushered me in and before I knew it, poof, I got armor."

Kili barked a laugh, "they just gave it to you?"

Lilly shrugged, "I guess so, they say I would need some armor if I was going on an adventure with a bunch of dwarves."

"I suppose extra protection never hurts," Kili didn't like that the elves implied their group couldn't take care of themselves, but didn't like the thought of Lilly getting hurt.

"Well, I guess you being here must mean it's time to go?"

"Yes, Thorin is ready to continue on, the faster we move the sooner we will reach our journey's end."

Lilly gave him a brilliant grin, "yes, I'm ready to get your home back. Besides, I have a feeling you and your family will look handsome in your crowns and royal junk."

Kili laughed, helping her up after she pulled on her boots, those were one thing she hadn't parted with, he noticed, "you look quite handsome yourself, very tough and masculine. Why, you could possibly pass for a man."

Lilly elbowed him, before giving a little smirk, "I make a sexier man than you, I'm sure." Kili gulped as she gave him a wink before straightening her armor and quickly putting her hair into a tight bun. The two finally joined up with the others, and Kili was a little impressed when she put her pack on her back, not letting Jake or the others bare her burden.

It was barely light out when they started to sneak out. Lilly was going to miss the pretty city.

"Don't worry," Kili appeared, as if reading her mind, "The City Under the Mountain is just as beautiful, if not more."

Lilly glanced back once more, before continuing on the trek to the mountains. Thorin had said they would stop and wait for Gandalf there. She walked between the two heirs. Shivers went up her back as she looked down; heights were not her thing. It wasn't long before she was joined by Bofur, making her grin.

"Lass," he greeted her with a wide smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Bo, I haven't talked to you all day," Lilly put on a pout, "didn't realize how horrid it is without your singing or stories."

Bofur smiled, he was right; she didn't remember a thing. He wondered how much of last night was her and how much was the alcohol. "Then I should apologize, milady. How could I have been so cruel and left you without song? It seems you have someone to fight off your boredom other than myself, though." He glanced to the royal brothers, before returning his gaze to Lilly.

Lilly gave him a wide grin, before it faded to a gentle smile, "Yes, I adore Fili and Kili, but I did miss your voice."

Bofur secretly was happy that she would practically tell him that she preferred his company, but he remembered his promise he made to himself, "aye, and I missed yours."

Lilly blushed a bit at that, remembering her dream of kissing him. She didn't know why she was so flustered, she was nowhere near a virginal little school girl who fawned over her first crush, "my voice is nothing special."

Loud whooping and hollering from nearby interrupted the dwarves. It seemed they were coming after them.

"The elves, they must have followed, we cannot let them prevent our quest," Thorin drew his weapon, but when the group was finally close enough to discern, they realized they were in fact human.

"Whoa, Nelly," the leader's voice slowed the horse, "well I'll be damned, they are here."

"Speak, newcomers, else we'll have to attack. Why are you looking for us?" Thorin noticed the strange accent immediately.

"Well, shit, it ain't you we're lookin' fer," the man gave him a toothy grin, which widened when Lilly stepped forward.

"You, you're Billy? Billy Newford?" the dwarves saw that her face was white as she approached the man.

"Well, ain't I a monkey's uncle? Here I thought we'd be surprising the newest members of our group, but they seem to've one upped us," the man dismounted with surprising grace.

"We came to stop the disappearances… but we got pulled in ourselves it seems. How are you still so young though? My contact said you went missing 1961, that's been nearly 50 years."

"Yep, been 52 years exactly. We still ain't figured that out, it seems we age with the world we came from, but here the world spins differently."

"That is curious," Lilly looked to her brother, who had approached them sometime during the conversation, "you don't know how happy I am to see you all alive."

"You think a lil' dimension travelin' could keep any of us down?" Billy grinned as he approached the pretty little woman.

Lilly laughed as he took her hand, enthusiastically shaking it and 'officially' introducing himself.

"Jake Mason," Jake said as his own hand was grabbed.

"Ah, Mason, good name," the man nodded, as he gestured to his group, "these lovely young men and women are all from our world. Ever since ol' Rain Dancer came and got me, we've been looking out for the others to fall through."

"My name is not Rain Dancer, it's Kitchi," a dark skinned man shot the younger man a dark look, before dismounting himself. He walked with confident air, before stopping before Lilly, "it is an Algonquian name."

"Ah, my mother had Native American blood in her, it's stronger in Jake than me," she grinned at the taller man, he was handsome, that was for sure. All dark colors and feathers strung in his hair, he looked very much like he did not change from when he was snatched from their world.

"I see, so you are from my people," the man grinned as he pulled the girl into a strange one-handed hug, before pulling a reluctant Jake in as well.

"Aye, lassy, it's all nice to see your people survived, but it's odd they came to search you out," Bofur frowned at the group.

"It's what any God fearin' man would do," Billy spoke back up, "'sides, ya never know who'll be the one to figure out how to get us back."

"Why do you want back so bad? Lilly said she wants to stay," Kili decided he wanted his questions answered too.

"Why else? Here ya got nasty things," the man scrunched his nose, "trolls and goblins are the big things ya got to worry about at our fort. We hold 'em off though."

"Don't you have monsters too?" Bombur asked. Lilly grimaced, but it seemed Billy was too busy fussing with Kitchi, both trying to figure out a way to get them to their fort.

"Ya'll are free to come and live in our lil' town, plenty of room and good people," Billy nodded, excited about meeting the new people.

"I wish we could, but we're helping our new friends here," Lilly looked uncomfortably between the groups of people, feeling like both decisions would be the wrong one.

"Then they can come too, we don't mind helping them," Kitchi spoke up, his dark eyes staring into Lilly's soul.

"We cannot," Thorin spoke up, "we don't have much time to stop so often."

"At least come to see where it is," Kitchi didn't look away from the siblings, "so when you are done helping you can find us again."

Thorin gave in, since it seemed the fort was barely out of the way and in the same way they were heading. The dwarves were put on the horses, some having to share with each other or the humans from their world. Kili glared to where Lilly was riding with Kitchi, the two were speaking in some strange language.

"What are they saying?" Kili asked Jake, who was riding beside him with Bilbo.

The man cocked his head, as he listened to the two, "oh, Kitchi is trying to teach Lilly some Algonquin; we know some from the texts we had to read about Wendigos."

"So it's a language from your world?" Fili asked, sharing his horse with Kili.

"Not anymore, it's pretty much considered an ancient language, only a few tribes of their people know any of it."

"And you said you were part erm, Algonquin?" Bilbo asked.

Jake laughed, causing the hobbit to color, "yeah, Lilly and I have some Native American blood in us, but we're mixed."

Kili looked to Lilly and Kitchi; they had similar backgrounds? He didn't see any similarities other; one was all golden while the other was more brass and blackness.

The group saw a tall, stone wall surrounding a village in the distance, but a loud screech broke their conversations. A cold chill ran through the group as they all grouped together as they looked for the source of the noise.

"It is a wendingo," Kitchi muttered, his dark eyes narrowing as he quickly dismounted, helping Lilly down as well.

"You know about wendingos?" Lily asked, pulling out her machete and carving symbols into the soil.

"They are well known by our people, many fell to cannibalism when the Europeans had pushed us from our homes," the man stood at the ready, arrow notched.

"Everyone get in the circles," Jake called out; he had helped Bilbo down and was making more Anasazi symbols around them. The dwarves listened, knowing not to question the siblings; the humans seemed more reluctant.

Another scream pierced the air, sounding very human.

"You guys have to get to safety, continue your adventure," Lilly looked wildly to her friends.

"And how are we supposed to do that? There's another one of those monsters out there," Bilbo was hysterical. If these symbols were the only things keeping them safe then how were they going to leave?

"Jake and I will lead it away, you have to continue on your quest," Lilly clutched at his shoulders, "Bilbo, you have to be brave, stay with them and be strong. We will catch up when we've dealt with the monster." Bilbo nodded mutely as he stared at Thorin for conformation.

"We are ready when you are," Thorin nodded. The rest of the group gathered their things.

Bofur approached the girl, who was being bombarded by the royal brothers, "how dangerous are these things?"

Lilly frowned as she regarded the trees, "they are the best hunters there are, just be quick and silent. The only thing that can kill them is fire."

"Be careful then," Bofur quickly drew her into a hug, "you know which way we're going, be careful and catch up quickly."

Lilly grinned as she pulled away, "don't worry about me, all in a day's work. You all be safe too."

The brothers looked grim as they squished her into a sandwich between them, both muttering farewells. Lily shouldered her things, pulled out her machete, and gave Jake a quick nod before the two broke into a mad run, screaming insults along the way. She was never gladder to be in such great shape, as she kept pushing herself away from the direction the groups were going. Kitchi knew what to do; he would get his group to safety. She heard rustling above them and let out a small scream, before skirting out of the way. The monster was toying with them, she could tell, so she decided to play along. She would do anything to get her friends to safety.

Jake didn't know how long they had ran. There were a few close calls, but so far they had managed to survive. There was a small propane tank back in their car, so they had to think of a way to manage without. Lilly had produced a small Ziploc baggie of matches and was trying to light a large stick she had found. If they found a big clearing they could face the thing, but it was a slim chance they would both make it out alive. He looked down at his sister, she was strong, she'd fight tooth and nail till the thing or her was dead. A loud crash sounded behind them, and Jake knew the thing was going to corner them; it was probably leading them to its lair.

It was not long before they reached a cliff wall; they could run no more. A loud growl resounded from the treetops. Lilly stood tall, her flaming limb held out like a sword. The thing charged and Jake just barely stepped out of the way, the thing crashing beside them. It let out a loud shriek as Lilly brought her stick down on it repeatedly, burning the thing's back. It recovered quickly though, and Lilly let out a horrified scream as it swatted her aside. Jake watched in fear as Lilly smacked into the cliff wall a good several feet away, not getting back up.

"You bastard," Jake growled as he uncapped his bottle of lighter fluid, soaking the thing in the stuff. He barely ducked below the beast's claws as it attacked again, rolling under the thing's arm. As quick as he fell, he sprung up, the fallen flaming stick in his hand. The Wendigo knew that it was as good as dead, its arm falling to its side just as Jake threw the fire onto the beast, lighting it up like a firework. It howled as it ran, slowly burning to death. Jake let out a sigh of relief as it crumpled a good ways away.

"Lilly," he remembered his sister as he scanned the ground. He let out a strangled sob as he caught sight of her, appearing broken from his vantage point. The wendigo did get a good hit in; he heard the crash over the sounds of yelling, his own and the monsters. He gently rolled her into a recovery position, careful of her neck and arm that was clearly broken. Blood poured out of her nose, her lip was split and he could tell there was a cut somewhere on her head, from the blood that flowed down her cheek. She couldn't die, not now, not the last of his family. His heart was in his throat as he waited to see any signs of life, praying to a merciless god to let this one person live. He let out a breath of relief when he saw her chest rise feebly. She was alive, for now. Picking her up was out of the question, so he put her bedding around her and splinted her broken arm. He set up his own bed next to her and built a fire to wait until she was conscious.


	15. Chapter 15

Kili watched as the siblings ran, he was immensely proud of their little Lilly as she shot away, screaming at the thing. Kitchi didn't wait long until he was ushering his people to the fort, before turning to the group the two left behind.

"Your people should leave quickly. Our people must have known how important this quest of yours was to sacrifice their lives," the dark man looked to his people before turning back to the dwarves and Bilbo, "I will go track them down and if either died, give them a proper burial."

Kili never felt angrier with the man until then, sure he could stand watching him laugh and chatter in his damned language with Lilly, but him just giving up on her pulled at something, "she will live, she fights these things all the time. When you find her, make sure she gets back to us quickly. She doesn't belong with you."

Bofur was more than shocked at the youngest princeling's anger, "come on, lad, she said we should hurry on. Don't want her to be angry with us when she sees we didn't make much ground."

Kili relaxed with the older dwarf's words, "you're right." The two quickly caught up with the others who had already quickly started out towards their home, both giving Kitchi one last glare.

-now some Kitchi pov-

To say he was impressed with the bravery of the new people was an understatement. They risked their lives for people they probably only knew a few days. The ferocity the youngest looking dwarf shown when he told them of his plans shocked him. Billy was right; they were very surprising. With a newfound vigor, the man crouched into a battle ready stance, picking his way through where the siblings crashed through. He was glad for that; the two did not seem to be hiding their tracks.

It took him nearly the rest of the day to finally reach them, and he was surprised to see them both sleeping by a fire, the charred corpse of the Wendigo still smoking nearby.

"Who's there?" Jake's voice startled him out of his reverie.

"Kitchi," he spoke out, confidence flowing back into him. He was older than these two, by a large amount it seemed, they just got lucky, "I came to see if you were alright after I got my people to safety."

"I'm fine, but Lilly-" Jake's voice faded away, and he let Kitchi see for himself. The girl looked fine from his earlier vantage point, but as he got closer, he saw her skin was mottled and her arm bandaged up with some sort of splint. It looked like several of her ribs were broken, to the point of a few floating while she breathed. The girl was broken, but that was better than he thought she would be earlier.

"I can help you keep watch then," he took seat on the other side of the girl, bow at the ready beside him. Jake gave him a nod in thanks before settling down for some sleep. Kitchi soon was looking back to the girl, she had an endearing face, it made him think of his own older sister he was forced to leave behind. He was startled when the girl let out a pained groan a few hours later. He leaned over her, making sure she would not hurt herself in her fitful sleep. She quieted soon, and settled back down. He frowned as he watched her screw up her face, her breathing picking up. "Jake."

The man started awake, looking to him for an explanation. Upon noticing Kitchi's look of fear at Lilly, he glanced down at the girl who seemed to be regaining consciousness, jerking awake. They cringed at the scream the girl let out, one full of pain and fear.

"Shush, Lilly Flower," Jake cooed, using the nickname their parents always used, "everything is okay. Looks like you got pretty beat up."

Lilly's gold eyes met his own darker ones, "Jakey? I hurt everywhere."

Kitchi frowned, she sounded so pathetic, "do not worry, we have a healer back at the fort that will make you well in no time, then we can follow your men."

"We?" she had latched onto that word earlier than he thought.

"Yes, you cannot hope to track down your friends without my help," the man grinned, "I know these lands far better than you."

Lilly smiled tiredly, "then we better hurry. Take me to your healer, we need to catch up before they run into more trouble; they seem to attract it."

The two men made a makeshift stretcher out of her bedding and large sticks they found laying around. They picked her up gently, setting her onto her bedding. Jake flinched when she let out a pained moan; she was rarely hurt this badly. It was dark by the time they made it back, Lilly passed out again, from exhaustion or pain they didn't know. It wasn't long before the healer was brought to them, Lilly laid out on a small bed in what appeared to be a makeshift hospital.

"What happened to the poor thing?" the older man asked, his worn hands gently peeling away her armor and clothing to better access her injuries.

"A Wendigo attacked," Kitchi explained, as Jake watched in fear as Lilly's injuries were finally revealed. Bright, angry bruises covered her ribs, her left arm was at an awkward angle, her hair matted with blood and grime, a deep cut across her bruised cheek where she probably hit the rock, and she was still unconscious.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jake knew that flailed segments were dangerous; his moving her around could have made them puncture her lung.

"Why of course, I can't mend the broken bones completely, but I can speed up the process," the man ran his hands over her chest, taking note of the broken ribs. He wasn't the most powerful witch, he knew that, but he knew enough to help the bones reattach, "she should be fine to move by tomorrow, though she should be careful, she is very lucky she survived."

Jake nodded, sitting in the chair next to her bed. Lilly would be happy to hear she could leave so quickly. He watched as the man examined his sister, happy to get help even when he didn't trust anything vaguely magical. The healer put some strange cast of sorts on her broken arm, then putting a sling to hold it in place. After putting a bandage across her chest to hold the ribs snug, the man brushed his hands against each other, announcing he was done.

"Thank you," Jake couldn't keep the relief out of his voice, shaking the man's hand, "for all you've done."

"Oh, it was nothing, she just needed a little push, I didn't do anything to her bruises or scrapes, those can heal on their own. She'll be sore, but alive."

Jake settled down for some more sleep, knowing that, come morning, his sister would want to set out, and not stop till she was ready to pass out herself.

When the two awoke the next morning, they were surprised to see all their stuff and Kitchi's piled next to the door, it seemed he was really going to help. It made Lilly feel better to have the Native along, she knew he would have more experience in surviving than the dwarves even, with his time in their world and this one. Between the three of them and horses the village more than happily supplied, the three could easily catch up with her friends. Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Bilbo's faces were what crossed her mind as she eased herself onto a saddle of a pretty gelding, her stuff snug on the it's back, she'd do anything to get back to them and help them take back their home.

"Where is it you were all heading?" Kitchi asked as the three rode on.

"Do you know about the- er- Kingdom Erebor?" Lilly asked, she trusted Kitchi, he didn't seem like the type to try and harm or stop the dwarves.

"Ah, yes, I know the tales, but I never have been there, I have maps that will lead us to it though, some of the first ones to come here went on an expedition to map this world. We may not be from this land, but we know to figure out where we need to be."

Lilly nodded, "when did you get brought here?"

"1818, it has been a while," Kitchi smiled sadly.

"You don't believe we just age with our world, do you? I mean if you did you'd be around 200 years old."

"I do not, but I do not want to think of any other options. We do age, I was only 15 when I was brought here, but now I look to be in my 30s, our life spans have become substantially longer. Some of us have gotten sick and we can be killed, as you almost saw yourself, but age has only taken the oldest who had come here."

"So you aren't even curious?" Jake asked.

"I feel, in this case, being in the dark is for the best. I do not mind living longer, it gives me more time to do more."

"How old is the oldest a person back there lived?" Lilly asked.

"Oh, well the last one to die of old age was from 1649, and he was actually brought over when he was in his 40s," Kitchi smiled when he saw Lilly's expression of awe, "it was quite a while ago though, I believe not long before Billy arrived himself."

Lilly nodded, "still impressive, seeing as he'd have only lived about another few years more, but get dragged here and all of a sudden he lives almost 300 years longer, how old did he appear?"

"If I remember correctly, he looked to be in his 70s, gray and decently wrinkled," Kitchi was a bit amused at her line of questions, it was what everyone did when they first crossed over.

"Damn, Jake, and you say as a hunter we'd die soon," Lilly grimaced when her horse decided to jump a fallen log instead of go around, "damn it, I miss cars. Ribs are still really bruised, I feel ever step."

Jake chuckled, "aw, suck it up, I've had about as bad without a magic man to help. Kitchi, how much longer until we reach the mountains?"

"Well, if we keep up this pace, I would think another hour."

Lilly couldn't restrain her sigh of relief, soon she could rest and listen to the jolly music of her friends.

It wasn't long until they reached a cliff ledge that seemed impossible to cross with the horses, so they quickly stripped their stuff and sent them back to the fort. Here was where the group should have stopped for Gandalf, but so far there was no sign of life. Continuing on, they didn't stop until they reached a large clearing where smoke rose from recent fires. They must be close, so they quickened their pace.

Lilly let out a strangled gasp as she looked at the gory scene: trees were fell, warg and orc bodies strewn across the once lovely woods, and the smoldering remains of a fire. She collapsed next to Thorin's oaken shield that he held so dear, taking it into her arms like a babe. She let herself cry for someone for the first time since Greg. Her friends that she fought so hard for, that she learned to care for, and that she was happy to die for were gone.

"J-Jake, what happened?" she looked up at her brother, begging him to tell help her. They were alive they had to be. Wily Fili, fun loving Kili, worrying Bilbo, strong Thorin, and sweet Bofur; they were always willing to listen to her, or to fill any silence with stories and singing. The others too, who she now regretted not getting to know, were missed. The horrible possibility of them leaving also crept up, they were supposed to wait, now they were God knows where without her, Gandalf and Jake.

"They are alive," Kitchi spoke instead, as he looked back to the siblings who were both looking around helplessly, "we will just have to continue on, they must have gone a different way, and we will track them."

"Do you see any trails?" Jake asked as he gently pulled Lilly to her feet.

"I see that something not human killed these wargs, and that must give us hope that there are beings out there that are helping them."

Lilly nodded, her sobs faded to tiny gasps as she quickly put Thorin's shield on her own healing arm, she would keep it safe for him. They would find those she cares for and she would help them get their home back, then she would live with them and be happy, of this she promised herself. So their own little party made their way to a nearby small human village, the quicker they acquired new horses the quicker they would get to Erebor and hope to meet up with the group, then they would kill the dragon.

-POV switch-

Gandalf sprinted out of the cave opening, the company quickly following. He took role as each dwarf passed, but when Bombur huffed by and no one followed, he was immediately worried.

"Where's Bilbo? Where's our hobbit? And Lillian and Jake? What happened?" to say he was upset was a bit of an understatement. If Bilbo died, it was his fault.

He picked up that Kili looked down, dejected. The others seemed a bit apprehensive too as they tried to recall when they saw him last. Then Thorin made one of his speeches that spoke of how Bilbo was a coward, which he only half listened to as he searched the woods.

"Here I am," Bilbo popped out of seemingly nowhere, laughing nervously as he sidestepped all the questions the dwarves asked. Gandalf saw him put a ring into his pocket and felt the evil it gave off. He was proud of the hobbit's own little speech; how selfless Bilbo seemed.

"Good to have our burglar back, but where are the humans?" he was a bit annoyed at the fact they refused to answer me.

"They led a Wendigo away," Bofur was the one to finally speak up, as he stepped towards him, "they said they would catch up, but that was almost a day ago."

Gandalf was a man who prided himself in his ability to read people, and the pain he saw in Bofur's face as he no doubt assumed the worse was touching. He saw how Lilly spent most of her time with Bofur, and when he looked to her other, more frequent, companions he saw a similar raw grief. They couldn't be dead, they were made for fighting, he saw it in the way they faced everything thus far. Between Lilly's gracefulness and speed, Jake's brute strength and cunning, and both of their ability to easily pick up on their enemies weakness they were practically unstoppable. "Then we must set up camp and wait."

But before they could even agree a loud howl pierced the air, and the group sprang into action, climbing trees to stay away from the Wargs that quickly approached them. They were all thankful when giant eagles rescued them from their looming death. As they flew away, they let peace overtake them. That is, all but Kili who looked back to the fires that were slowly dying out, all he could think of was that Lilly and Jake weren't going to find them now that they were miles away and counting.

Bofur felt the same strange emptiness, as he thought of the pretty golden girl, who kissed him what felt like a lifetime ago. She could be either dead or on her way to an empty battlefield. Two dwarves were joined by the guilt and sadness they shared for the tiny human who fought so hard for them. They thought, in that instance, that they would never see her again.

**The end…. For now… till November and the next movie comes out. PM or review on who you think Lilly should court first. I am thinking she is going to end up with Bofur no matter what, since Kili is supposed to die anyway. However, with Kili having a possible love interest in the next movie, I want there to be friction between the two girls. Lilly isn't use to not being the only girl around, I feel like she would feel threatened and abandoned. So we shall seeeeeee!**


End file.
